The Kit in Easy Company
by redheadclover
Summary: Kit has a dark past of abuse from an upper-class life. After being recruited to be in an all female assassin Company for the war, Kit chose to leave her abuse behind and find her future as one of the best snipers the army has to offer. But when she is assigned to Easy Company as their new sniper, can she look past the abuse that still hurts her and trust these men? (OC x Spiers)
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: I just want to point out before I get any reviews or backlash messages: the company I created with the women is PURE FICTION! I wanted to write an interesting story about women in this period of the war, and they are made up for story sake! IF you have a problem with it, privately message me please do not leave a review with negativity. Enjoy :)**

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They first thing they told me when I was given my training uniform was that I no longer have a first name. My real identity now was completely out the window from the moment they recruited me and told me I had a place in the army. All I had left in my life as a young woman at the age of 22 was my own vivid dark memories and past nightmares. Back in my hometown, at this point in my life, I would be married and having children with a plentiful life and nothing to bitch or complain about. But, of course, I had no typical life or no typical mindset of what I wanted to do. No, that was shattered and broken into a thousand pieces.

Everything else was shot to hell.

Let me start at the beginning. I am the only daughter in my family, and we were pretty rich where we came from. I was born and raised in Seattle, Washington with a loving father and mother, and also having three older brothers named Andrew, Samuel, and Ethan. My mother was a socialite, coming from a rich family and was all about being sophisticated and proper for the world to see. She never once lifted a finger when it came to being dirty, and she was the most beautiful woman that I have ever seen. My father was a weapon's specialist manufacturer, he knew how to make guns and weapons for the military, which earned him a good amount of money. The both of them were a match made in heaven, known far and wide through Seattle and had other rich friends.

Being the youngest and only daughter, I was thought have the bountiful life of an upper-class little girl. I was supposed to be in dresses, wanting to play with dolls and have my mind be filled with flowers and anything that would be considered light and playful. But I was not one to play in dresses, when I wanted to do what my brothers would do on the weekends.

I wanted to hunt.

Ever since I was 6 years old, seeing my father and my brothers going to and from the woods on the weekends in their car and I was forced to stay behind with my mother, it made me want to join them even more. However, I was forced to try and live the life my mother's rules on how to be a porter young lady. I hated it, to be honest, having to wear dresses and being stuck to not get my knees dirty or my nails short from biting them. Though that never stopped me when I played with my friends in school, running my dresses to be filthy with grass stains and skinned knees. To me, I would rather play with the children than try to be some kind of porcelain doll my mother wanted me to be.

I always melted more to my father, who was kinder to me when it came to discipline. He was young in my eyes, picking me up from school on his way home from work and then having me sit on his shoulders as we walked on the sidewalk in the Pacific Northwest weather. I loved my father beyond words, beyond breath. He would play with me constantly, sing to me though he had no real singing voice, and didn't mind treating me like one of his sons when it came to banter and playfulness. It was my mother who wanted me to stay a girl when I was more prone to acting like a boy. She would scorn me when I would be caught in a fight once or twice in school, or if I would come home covered head to toe in mud from acting on a dare. Some part of me thought she hated me since I was not the daughter she wanted me to be. But my father never showed that to me, since he would hold me at night through my tears when my mother would yell at me earlier that day.

As I became a teenager, I was reluctant to hear my mother pleading with me to wear more dresses like the rest of the girls and act more like a young lady when my brothers were off to run amok. My family was safe throughout the depression, we had no stocks to work with since all of our wealth was both from my father's constant job flow and my mother's inheritance that she would use at the drop of a hate. She would try to buy me the best dresses, though I was more prone to regular plain dress compared to my friends who were struggling to get by with their own clothes. That was another thing that was hard for me: the friends I wanted to make were the ones I wasn't allowed to play with because of the lack of money that was behind their names. As I looked back on it now, it made me feel more foolish.

But I found a solstice with my father, who taught me how to shoot when I was fourteen years old with my brothers out in the condensed woods of Washington. They did not tell my mother, not at first. MY father claimed he didn't want to give his wife a heart attack, but I think she didn't want to see her only daughter shooting a gun and being trained to hunt. He thought fourteen was old enough in his eyes though he lean red himself when it was 7 years old from my grandfather. I loved those memories with my father, the Sundays when he would take me into the woods just the two of us. I would be able to wear slacks and shirts, pull my hair back instead of having it in constant curls that my mother would force upon me. We would shoot early in the morning for some game that was around the woods, then having a nice lunch near the abandoned creeks and small meadows. After the many hours in the woods with my father, I learned that I had a pretty good shot, a real good one. Hell, my father told me that I was getting rather good for someone my age, far too good. It made me proud, to think that I made my own father proud in how I could shoot a buck from so far away and see the small things that moved around me without moving my own head. It was a gift that I had, a true one, and I wished I held onto it. That's what I loved best about my father: he loved me as a daughter but treated me how I wanted to be treated. He never forced me to do something that I hated, he took what I liked and ran with it.

But it came to a screeching halt, because I had to grow up.

I had to be reluctant to wear my dresses and make up for my mother's sake, though it was making our own relationship with each other bitter and distant. She was trying to hard to have me be the daughter that she always wanted, yet I was the only who was struggling with earning her approval. I already had it from my father and all of my brother's, all of whom were already married and having happy marriages with their spouses. Did she want the same for me? During that time I couldn't see it, but now seeing it as a past memory, I knew that she was prepping for me marriage and getting me groomed to be the perfect bride and wife for whomever wanted to claim me. It sounded morbid and undignified, but that was my life as the daughter of a socialite.

There was another family that my mother was apparently talking to in order to set me up with their son, a high polished young man whom was handsome and beyond polite and kind. She dropped the bomb on me when I was 18 years old, after I graduated from high school and about to help my father with his job as office assistant. At that point I had the long strawberry blond hair, bright green eyes and a face that would resemble an angel, well, from what my mother told me. It felt morbid that she was going to set me up with a young man whom was two years older than me and looked more like a movie star then anything, though I would come to find out later in life that there was some finanical reasonings behind it. His name was Gerald, and he was one of the best bachelors in Seattle. He was everything that a young man should be when we met over dinner: kind, sophisticated with his family's old money written all over his face, charming, intelligent and resourceful, and had a bright future at his father's law firm. It should be a perfect thing for the both of us.

But it was more tainted in darkness, very tainted.

After we were engaged, from only 6 months of dating only each other. I barely knew anything about Gerald, which bothered me since he was kind enough to me in front of other people. Once the ring was on my finger, I saw a new side to him that was never surfaced when we were just dating. It started slowly, having me see him become less kind to me when we were out in public or talking together. I noticed he would stay out for long nights and not come back in the morning without telling me where he went and whom he went out with. I never raised the concern I had, I was never meant to. From all that my mother hammered in my head, she taught me to never answer to my him since he was going to be the provider of my future family and of my life.

I was torn between the two beliefs of my parents: my mother's need to be the perfect woman, and my father's brief on being bold with my own voice.

Gerald first showed abuse to me when I finally opened up to how I was feeling about the situation of him being out and about all night without telling me. I asked him where he went and he told me not to worry about it, clearly not seeing the look of anger on my own face when I countered back that he was a fool for not telling me. That's when he hit me, hard across the face and cheek to make it bruise and almost bleed. He made me swear not to even argue or disagree with him again and I was in pure shock. Was this what my marriage was going to be like, all my life? Was this worth getting my mother's approval when I was going to go through with their torture over and over again?

I told my mother nothing, but I saw Andrew one afternoon at his home on the other side of town in Seattle. He saw my bruised face, ushered me inside and I told him the whole story. As the eldest in the family, Andrew was out protector and our sense of peace. He tried to persuade me to talk to our mother and father to break the engagement, since my father was already not convinced enough that I was ready to be marriage at such a young age. I was afraid to mention it to them both, mostly my mother whom I was now fearing and was already planning the wedding without me knowing a single ounce of detail. But he pleaded me to, since Andrew saw the bruise on my face and was not happy with it at all. So I was give enough strength from my bother, the constant rock in my family whom supported me in my need to be free from the chains of my mother, to go and confront my fiancé.

That ended on such a tragedy, since that night when I confronted him about how he did hit me, he took it one more step too far when he then raped me that night.

Everything that I thought to be good for me in my life was shattered after he did that to me. In my mind, he robbed me of all that I thought was good and pure in the world. It was one button that was pushed too far and no longer having me really wish to be a part of this fabricade that my mother made for me. I was left in the room, battered and beaten to the point of covered in both bruises and the broken promises that I thought love was going to being me. It took me enough strength to call Andrew from the room, when Gerald already left the room and off to who knows where. Andrew picked me up and got me out of there without me having to argue with him. He drove me back to his home, not calling our parents when I pleaded him not to, and I was cleaned up there into the wee hours of the morning by my sister-in-law. She was so kind, not saying a word as she helped me into new clothes and as I cried the bitter tears of being broken and not longer whole.

Days came and went, though I never left my brother's house and my mother was worried since Gerald claimed that I went missing. There was mad chaos in the houses: his family standing behind Gerald and my brother fighting to defend me and the small amount of honor that I had left on my sleeve. My poor father, his heart broke and my mother had no idea what happened. Gerald never confessed, yet I was too scared to even tell her what happened and that he did it to me. So I never went home.

I ran.

But first, I had to think of a lie, and a good one to have my mother be stupid enough to take. Andrew helped me, along with Samuel and Ethan who found out through our eldest brother. We were convinced that Gerald was bad news, though our mother was not going to listen and she was fighting too hard to keep the both of us together in this happy image in her head. However, her children had a plan for me to find a way out.

We had an Uncle that lived in Colorado, my father's older brother named Jack. He was more of the outsider in our family, preferring to live in the woods himself since he had no real wanting of the taste of society and the upper middle class. But he was none the less a fantastic Uncle to play with and hear stories of hunting bears and mountains lions. I could see the sharp contrast in both my father and his older brother: my father chose the comfortable life and my uncle chose the life worth living. He was the mountain man in the family, living outside of Denver and near the mountains where he would hun all the time and get his own food from game out there. He was so opposite from how my life was: covered in mountains and earth with no trace of richness or snobbiness.

So I was sent there.

We told my parents that there was a school out here for me, University of Colorado that I wanted to attend to get myself a higher education. I have been wanting to go there for awhile since I got out of high school so I can pursue a degree, yet my mother chose my fate for me and it ended up with me being left battered and bruise with blood and the lost of my innocence. I also needed from fresh air from all that happened, and Colorado was the best thing for me at that point. So we convinced my mother that some time in nature with my Uncle, though he was unsophisticated according to her, was the right medicine for me to get myself back in order and then I can return home. My parents agreed, though my father was more heartbroken with the fact I was simply leaving him. I hugged him the tightest, yet I had no real need to look at my mother in the eye when she kissed me on the cheek and reminded me.

"I'll fix what happened. it can be fixed, and all will be well."

Like hell it would.

I ended up only my Uncle's doorstep a few days later, suitcase in hand and nothing else with him opening the door to see a battered Niece in front of him. His house was a log cabin, though it was rather large because of his own sum of money hunting game and selling the meat at the market place, so he took was living a bit of the high life within his own town thought he never showed it. He looked just like my father, but with the weathered look on his face and a beard, along with the same bright eyes that I inherited from my father. He was wearing his hunting gear, and he looked at me up and down with a hesitance there since I had a busted lip that was still healing, bruises on my arms and thighs that were not seen because of the dress, and small look of grimace on my face.

"We're hunting tonight, come on."

I stayed with him for the next 6 months, and our routine was just the same. Wake up, eat breakfast, hunt all day, break for lunch and come home for dinner, then sleep. He had a simple life, the mountain life as seeping under my skin as I traded my silk dresses for hunting jackets and pants along with boots. This was what I need,d to forget about the old life my mother tried to shove down my throat with a smile plastered on my face. I was now learning a new trade, a new kind of hunting with my Uncle. With my father, it was pure practice with the shooting of a gun, and I had to turn in my gun to satisfy my mother. But now, I had to learn how to shoot to survive. My Uncle was the best teacher at that, he learned how to fend for himself out in the woods plenty of times because this was the life he chose. He did the same for me, teaching me how to shoot and how to shoot from afar. This was my therapy, to take that pain that Gerald inflicted on me and transform it into something that I could control.

Though it scared me from men for the years on end.

I kept my mother and father satisfied in the letters I wrote, telling them that all was well in my world and I was doing just fine. But the nightmares of the rape were continuing to infect me in how I was living and how I was seeing others around me. I would flinch from simple touches, found myself becoming harder in my heart towards others who were reaching out to me. Was this all my fault, what happened to me with Gerald? It should be my fault because I was the woman whom opened her mouth and showed her colors when she was meant to be hidden behind a pretty face.

December of 1940, when we were experiencing a bitter cold December, my Uncle told me that he found another way for me not to go home to what happened to me. There were some recruiters in town that day for the army, which was a surprise to me when he dragged me to go with him into the market with our kill in the trunk of his car. We had a good amount of deer and bobcat to sell to the market, and when we pulled in, my Uncle pointed over to the small building across the street with the line of men there waiting to be sworn into the army. He explained to em that maybe I can find a place there, in the US army, that would be better than just shacking up with him and hiding from my real problems. I had to wonder why he would want me to leave him, he just replied that he thought I was ready enough to be on my own and make up my own mind.

Apparently my Uncle convinced one of the recruiters to come out to see me shoot in the woods with some targets set up around the area, and just to indulge him. Although the skinny little guy was skeptical to see a woman with a rifle strapped to her shoulder shoot at some targets, he was floored when I hit every target in so many seconds without blinking.

All were bullseyes.

He had to make a call, going back to his Headquarters in California and it felt my Uncle and I to wonder why he had to leave with such haste. But when he was gone, it made me really think of what I wanted to do with my life. Did I really want to go back and face my family and their precious daughter needing to be a wife? Did I want to stay in the mountains, away from anyone and everyone that was reminding me of the painful night and just hunt? To me, holding a gun in my hand was enough for remind me that I had control in what I wanted to do with my life. I decided to strip the old life that I was used to, what I was trained to do, and I was wanting to have more freedom at my fingertips and within my own mind. It didn't mattered that it was going to take years for me to heal from the rape.

But I wasn't going to go back. I would rather die than go back.

The recruiter came back, directly to our house to be precise, with highly ranked officer with him whom looked more stoic and restless in his own uniform when they were standing at the front door to our cabin. The recruiter explained to all to Officer Jacobs, whom was the head of a new division that was in the army for special soldiers that he was heading and training for the war at hand. He was there to ask me to join his Company, and his alone because females were not going to be allowed to join the regular army and marine ranks. He was looking to support and train females who were highly skilled in certain roles and tasks that were definitely needed in the war.

In short, he was looking for assassins.

It was a shocker to hear that he wanted me to be part of his assassin team of all females, because I could never picture myself as a assassin to begin with. He only explained that the skills we would be trained in were far more advanced than the typical soldier that was going to be trained, it was more behind the scene action and less being in the battle front. However, he still wanted to see me shoot and see what I could do. So, after once again setting up target for him and thinking that was clearly a waste of time. I took down all twenty targets within seconds and all of which were spread out around the woods behind my house. And once again, I shot every target right in the middle.

He recruited me on the spot.

So in 1941, after my Uncle reassuring me that he was going to tell my siblings and then alter my parents, when it was the right time, I was in Fort Benning with the other recruited females in our own Company that was under the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps. Captain Jacobs was our leader, and we were going to be trained into the specifics arts that we were given by God. Some of us were experts with decoding messages, others were good with the languages. We had hunters, spies, women who were good with knives and pistols, and women who were good with their hands with making guns and machines. We were a small troupe of warriors who were looking to find some kind of future. I didn't think I would find some kind of belonging there with those women when I stepped into my new living space with my one bag in hand and the look of confusion there written on my face. But they invited me in, for they too were seeking out their best selves.

The night, after meeting all of the girls there since there was only a handful of us, we were having out first meeting with Captain Jacobs in our bunker and he told us the bomb in the whole situation. This Company was never meant to come to up, this was merely an experiment with some of the Colonel's in the Army to see if they needed the extended amount of force need from us. It didn't feel right that we were just test subjects in this whole situation, but then again we were rejected from being in the basic general army jobs because we were women in the first place. So I looked around the room, seeing each face of every woman and how we were going to be going through this together with our new names given to us.

Jade was a 24 year old brunette from Nevada who was one the best pilots from her area. Ace was an expert in demolitions and explosions from the outskirts of Virginia, Spade was a Texas born spitfire who an experience gun shooter and slinger, Nova being a New York born expert driver and in transportation, Viper being the Asian American from Northern California with a knack of knives and hand to hand combat. The rest of us were good with guns, we knew how to fight with knives and with our heads. So it was safe to say that when we were listening to Captain Jacobs as his new soldiers, we were being briefed for something that was far bigger than we would ever imagine in our lives.

"You were handpicked to be a part of this Company, and I see true potential in all of you. I am here to train you in being the best assassins that the US army has ever seen, the best of the best. You will go beyond your call of duty and will power to help the United States to win this war by going behind enemy lines, aiding our soldiers out on the line if needed," Captain Jacobs told each of us, looking at all of us directly in the eye as I was drinking in the fact that I was here, in the army, and no longer living the life I was supposed to live. My mother and father are still in a free fall on where I was, my brothers were my support system thought they knew this was crazy, and I as no longer the sheepish girl my mother wanted me to be.

The next year we were training, and with that training came a friendship amongst the young women who were part of my company. We became close with the nights of stories of where we came from and who we were before we came to war. The one common denominator that I saw with all of us, what that we came to the war to find a new versions of ourselves that we never thought would exist. After the countless months of training in weapons, intense strategies in guerrilla war tactics and fighting skills, we were no longer privates or even sergeants because of the progress we were making. I was the training to be a sniper, one of the best ones in Fort Benning. I was no longer the little girl from Seattle from a rich life.

I was 1st Sergeant Kit, expert sniper in Wolf Company in the U.S. Army.


	2. Chapter 2

**Fort Benning, Georgia**

**1942**

"Wakey Wakey, we're training this morning." The covers over my head were thrown off and I squinted from the light shining on me from our cabin. Rubbing my face with my freckled hand, I got up slowly and rubbed my bright green eyes in a sluggish manner. This was going to be a long day.

Very long

"Come on, Kit. Ace wants to do a double-timed training," Viper explained to me as I watched her throw her jet black straight hair that was to her mid back into two buns on the back of her head, then throwing on her combat jacket with our Sigma on the shoulder, a wolf howling at the moon. I rolled out of bed and saw the daylight seeping through our window in Fort Benning, another day in the army and it was both a smooth ride and a buzzkill. Smooth ride, since I was in my own element with my rifle in hand, but a buzzkill since I haven't spoken to my parents in awhile. One of these days they are going to get in contact with me, and I would have to admit that I fled to the army instead of going back to face them and let them know how I really feel.

Great.

Once I got out of bed completely and got my back moving from being dead on my mattress, I looked at my watch to see that it was 0600 and the sun was peeking through Fort Benning. Georgia was growing on me with the hot summer and cool winters, along with the green everywhere around me and the sun beating down my back from the countless training we would have to do. I was used to this life, the training from dawn to dust and the bonding time we would have as Wolf Company.

"You've gotta be kiddin' me. It's Friday for Christ's sake." Nova grumbled from her spot in her own cot two rows down from me. I grinned as I ruffled my hair with my fingers, feeling a few knots here and there. At that point, I chopped my hair off and it was now to my jawline, layering with the strawberry blond color there against my cool skin and bright eyes.

"Come on, we can get it over with," Jade reassured her as she walked to Nova's cot with her long brown hair in one long dutch braid down the middle of her back and her dark blue eyes seeming brighter in the sun. I watched her slender body move by my own cot when I reached over to grab my dog tags to thrown on over my neck and then scratching the back of my wrist where there was a thin scar from my first day working with a knife in hand to hand combat against Artemis.

I grabbed my jacket from where it was hanging on the wall, throwing my arm through each sleeve and then peering out the window to see a swarm of new soldiers coming through the open grassy area, freshly new soldiers and they were all talking together with their bags in hand. I raised an eyebrow.

"Look at this, new soldiers," I said in a somewhat shocked manner, hearing Nova, Viper and Jade walk over to look out the window and see what I saw. They were all freshly arrived soldiers from who knows where, maybe another Camp that they were training at. I could see Nova raising an eyebrow and Jade grinning from ear to ear though Viper was looking more brooding from seeing all the men there.

"They look rather fresh and naive, too naive to be soldiers," Viper mumbled, having the rest of us chuckle from how cool she was taking this. She was more of the hard as steel soldier than the rest of us, her mind was more of a puzzle than anything.

"Play nice, Viper. Don't you remember that was us one year ago?" Nova asked her with a shrug of her shoulders.

"Yeah, and yet we're trained assassins and they are merely going to learn how to jump out of a plane and not die." Viper replied back to Nova as she moved away from the window and I watched the men some more. They did look young, but young and filled with adventure in how they walked and how they viewed Fort Benning.

"Let's go to training before we get in more trouble," Jade said to us though Nova rolled her eyes and I just grabbed my sniper rifle from the side of my bed. When I was given the role of a sniper, I went through specific training on how to assemble, shoot, carry and disassemble a rifle with ease, though at first it looked like I was trying to get a puzzle together more than a gun. After months of training on one rifle, I was doing it in my sleep and I was given my own to own, having me tweak the weapon to my own favor with tape around the handlebar and a lot of wear and tear along the wood and metal from using it so many times. Viper grabbed her belt that held some of her folded knives and daggers, Nova with her chest gear that held her pistol and Jade with her fingerless gloves that she would wear when she used her weapons.

The four of us walked out into the already cool sun that was hitting us in the face, making me more awake and alert as we were going to head over to the edge of the area to go on our run and training exercise. We had our own training post that we made in the forest near the military grounds that included wooden walls, high ropes to climb that would lead us into trees to run across, dummies and target to shoot and aim at. It was meant to keep our minds sharp and on the edge, and it has worked for a bit though we would add more elements to it to keep it fresh and never dull.

"Look at those dames, will ya?" I rolled my eyes, it was already starting. Some of the men, the fresh ones who were new to the area, were looking over at all of us with wide eyes and big grins on their faces. We had to deal with this once or twice with the new Companies that were coming into the new campgrounds, and every time we would shut them down within an instant to let them know we meant business while we were here. Wolf Company was one of the ones that was here the longest, still wondering when we are going to head out to war and get our hands dirty, but then again it was nice to have our own little group of women together who were already trained to kill. We knew how to handle these guys, and the one way we would handle it was ignoring them and not showing any kind of weakness.

"Hello ladies! You in for the paperwork here, or are ya a nurse that's gonna take care of me?" Another soldier said to us as we just kept walking, the four of us meeting our other set of Company members on the edge of the stomping grounds. The group of soldiers stopped near one of the medical buildings and were still looking over at us, laughing together and pointing at us. I could see Viper placing one of her hands on her belt, resting it there and really thinking of throwing knife over in their direction since they were close enough to throw a practice scare. She stopped, the rest of us stopping with her and looking at the boys once again. Sure it aggravated me, but it made the other girls even madder since they were intense with their soldier status than I was. Compared to them, I was less of a hard ass and more content on where I was in life.

"Scare throw?" Nova asked under her breath, having me shift a bit in my spot and shake my head.

"Come on guys, leave them." I advised them, but they were looking at me then with skepticism in their eyes. I was the youngest, so my say in certain things weren't really keen, though I still wondered why my name amongst the Company was Kit.

"Just one throw, and I promise to be good." Viper reassured them, grabbing her belt and opening one of the sockets that had her knife there that she would use for practice. We all looked a teach other, and even though I still had no say about the situation, they all nodded their heads once and Viper grinned. Within an instant, she had the knife unfolded, aimed back and she threw the knife without blinking or thinking twice. We watched the knife slam into the wall, sticking out straight right in front of one for the soldier's face. All of the men went silent as they first looked at the knife and then looked at us when we gave them death glares. Well, they did. I was staying mostly in the back with my rifle strap across my chest and my gun against my back. Viper just placed her hands on her hips and the rest of the girls stared at them intensely, even though I felt more like a coward compared to the other girls.

"Welcome to Fort Benning." Jade said to the group of men who were still silent, "Have fun learning how to jump from a plane." We started to walk again across the lawn away from the soldiers, not saying anything to them or hearing them say anything back. I never wanted them to look at me like any other girl, I got that. But it was another thing to scare them, that didn't feel right. Compared to the other girls, I was more on the neutral ground than hostile. But I still followed the girls, holding my rifle strap as a nervous habit and then looking behind me at the boys who were still staring at us with shock on their faces. Even thought its been years since the incident with Gerald, I was still on the fence when it came to interaction with other men who were this forward with women.

I was glad to be in a Company of women. We were better as an army.

* * *

I ran through the woods, sniper rifle against my back as I head someone above us in the trees running around the tree branches that they are used to using as a road. I peered up for a solid second, seeing that it was Artemis who was running in such a fast rate with her bow out and arrow loaded with her sheath on her back, ready to hit the first target. I had my pistol in hand seeing the first target about 200 feet away and where my first marker was. Sliding to a stop behind the tree trunk, within a moment I aimed and shot at the target to get the bullseye before Artemis shot her arrow the target in front of her at the other tree before jumping from branch to branch like she was a mere squirrel in the tree in their natural habitat.

I saw the wooden wall high above me and before I could get in contact with the wall, I threw the pistol back in its holster that I was wearing on my chest and I jumped, getting the top of the wall in my fingers and pulled myself up with ease from plenty of practice. Artemis was aiming at another tree when I landed on the top of the wall, balancing on the thing width of the wall on my feet as I threw the rifle over my shoulder to aim at my target which was 200 feet away. I looked through the scope, seeing the target and shooting within a moment to get the target before cocking the gun and aiming at the other targets within the area. They were scattered all around the area both high and low in the trees, and I was getting each one along the line before I rolled the rifle back onto my back and I launched myself off the wall towards the rope that was dangling from the nearest trunk that was closet to me as Artemis landed back on the dirt floor and used the arrows in her hand to slash at the dummies set up around the area as I climbed the rope to get to the trunk.

Shooting a few more targets that were now 500 feet away, hiding within the high branches and trunks, I then grabbed the knives that were folded into my waist belt and unfolded a couple within my fingers, two in each hand and then walking along the tree branch to see the ones target that were on either side of me near the floor, against the dummies' heads and launching the knives there to hit them hard in the back of the heads. I needed my session as Artemis looked up at me with a grin on her face. She and a willowy body with her blond long hair in two braids and some of her strands framing her skinny face and her brown eyes looking up at me with a grin.

"Good session today, Kit." She said to me as I grinned back at her.

"Same with you, Artemis."

* * *

I sat out on our porch in front of the cabin, working on my rifle once again and getting my mind occupied with something else other than my parents. I received a letter from my brother the same day we were training and posed the death threat on the new soldiers. Andrew wrote to me and warned me that our mom and dad were going to call me soon. Great.

The sun was seeping down over the training area as I heard someone walking over on the wooden floor. Looking up I saw it was Beta, another member of our Company who happened to be deaf. She was born without hearing, yet she was one of the best in hand to hand combat, beating me so many times and she does have a good right hook from learning how to box from her father growing up. Beta was none the less kind, far too kind to be here with her wide smile and beautiful face that was luscious and round and her caramel hair that matched her tan skin and her gray eyes. She was brought her by her father, whom thought this was best place for her since she was practically dumped by the rest of her family because of her lack of hearing. Because of her not being able to communicate, the whole Company learned Sign Language, we all chose to learn the language so we can talk to her.

_Hello_ _Kit_. She signed to me, having me grin and wave at her back as she sat down next to me and was fiddling with her long hair that was draped over her shoulder.

_Did you have training today? _I signed to her, seeing her nod her head.

_Knives with Viper along with pistol rounds with Nova_ She explained, having me watch with her hands and she grinned as she said this with those lovely hands of hers.

_I had archery and sniper rounds with Artemis_ I replied back.

_You're doing good with the bow, according to Artemis_. She complimented me, having me nod once to say thank you.

_You are far too kind, Beta._ I said back to her, seeing her wave me off and look out in the distance as I was looking as well. It was nice to be with her and talk to her about regular things, though she knew whenever we would have a good day or a bad day. Even though she couldn't hear, she had another sense of compassion around her to give to us when we were either too hard on ourselves or having a rough day with training.

_Something's troubling you, Kit._ She explained slowly with a look of concern on her face with her hands moving. _I know how you work on your rifle sometimes, like you want to avoid a thought._ I grinned at her, knowing that I could not hide a single thing from her because of how she could see past my face and what mask I threatened to wear.

_My brother wrote to me, telling me my parents are going to call me._ I explained to her with my hands and my rifle resting against my shoulder between my legs.

_And you don't want them to call? _She signed with me with a shrug of her own shoulders.

_Not really. They don't think the army's the best place for me_. I signed back, seeing her nod her head and drink in what I was telling her. It was hard to make the other girls understand when I didn't tell them about the whole thing with Gerald, not all of it. It was a fear of mine, to just talk about ti and explained how it was still killing me from the inside out. They all knew the basics of it, how Gerald was abusive, but they didn't know about the rape. Not yet.

_You don't want to go back there, don't you?_ She signed to me carefully as he watched me with her beautiful eyes and the look of pure niceness on her face, since she somewhat knew about my parents and how they were with me. I nodded, not signing back to her before I looked ahead again and sighed. It was a subject that I never wanted to talk about, yet I had to because it was somehow a phrase of therapy.

_Tomorrow, let's practice with our hand to hand combat_. Be a suggested to me with a hint of pleasantness on her face as she tapped my shoulder for me to see to sign at me. I grinned, seeing that she as trying to make me feel better about the whole situation.

_Sure thing. You can whip my ass once again_. I signed back, hearing her chuckle and I chuckled back at her. But it was cut short when Ace walked over to the pair of us with her long legs and her hands on her hips, along with a toothpick in her mouth and her brown dark eyes looking down at me.

"You have a call from Washington." She said to me, both saying it and signing at the same time so Beta knew what was going on. Beta hated being left out in conversations, so at this point all Wolf Company was both talking an signing at the same time out of habit. I grimaced, knowing who was going to be on the other line and I looked over at Beta, seeing her nod her head once at me for comfort and reassurance that I was going to do the right thing.

"Thanks Ace," I thanked her as I got up from my spot on the porch and swung my rifle over my shoulder to hang off my back. I walked on over to where the phones were in the administration building, thinking with every step it was going to somewhat a deadly conversation with my mother mostly. So when I got into the building, I walked over to the froth desk where the black phone was waiting for me, the receiver open and having me wonder who it was on the other line. The workers in the room didn't see me nor did they make eye contact with me as I grabbed the phone, placing it to my ear and carrying it over to the smaller more isolated area of the room to get from privacy.

"Lieutenant Kit here." I said into the phone, since it was a force of habit and it was the only way we could ever answer the phone.

"Hello dear." I cringed, hearing that it was my mother with her gentle tone, sodding relieved to hear me.

"Hi mother." I replied back to her almost in a short manner, since it was like being hit over and over again by Beta in a practice sparring round.

"It's so good to had your voice again, although I was confused as to why you are being called Kit there." My mother said in hesitance, clearly not understanding what was going on with me and how I was barely getting by from hearing her voice.

"I don't have a name here anymore, mother." I replied to her cooly, hearing nothing on her side of the line and thinking of how hard she was trying not to cry. Should I be a bit nicer to her?

"Gerald as been asking for you." She dropped the bomb that was trying to keep me together. Nope, not going to be nice. Not anymore.

"What does he want?" I asked in almost a bitter manner.

"Don't be so cruel, honey. He is simply concerned with where you are and how you are doing." She explained, trying to keep it light and also having her motherly tone going at it now, trying to scold me.

"I'm sure he is concerned, since he was the one who almost broke my nose." I explained in a low tone, trying to keep my own voice down from yelling at her for just speaking his name to me.

"You know for a fact that he is more than sorry for what he did, and he wants to get back together with you and make this marriage work." My mother tried to reason with me and the sound of pleading in her voice, though I moved away with the cord following me some more so I can get more privacy since I was looking like I was both about to be sick and wanting to shoot my rifle at something to make it explode.

"I'm not going back there." I warned her carefully and making a fist at my side.

"You're not being reasonable." My mother countered with me and I could hear that she was now going to scold me.

"Neither was he when he decided to hit me, mother. I'm telling you one more time, I'm not coming home." I said slowly to her to let her drink it in.

"What has gotten into you? Trying to get yourself killed by being the army, that is not how I raised you! I raised you—" my mother started to scold me, once again. But this time I was going to stop her from another rant against me and what I was doing to break her heart.

"No, you raised me to keep my mouth shut and be a good wife, when all I wanted to do was be my own person!" I raised my voice slightly, hearing nothing on the other line, "I know that you raised me to be submissive, and that's not I want to do with my life!"

"I blame Uncle Jack for how you ended up! He's brainwashed you into thinking that you can be some kind of hunter!" my mother screamed into the phone now, no longer nice but trying to scare me into coming back.

"That's funny because I blame you for brainwashing me into becoming a wife for a good for nothing jackass who hits women for sport." I countered back in a heated tone.

"I want you home this instant!" My mother commanded me, having me hear someone in the background trying to calm her down. I knew that voice, it was my father and he was trying to be the reasonable one.

"I'm 22 years old now. I'm an adult and I have every goddamn right to not listen to you barking orders at me anymore. Look, I'm sorry I was never the daughter you ever wanted, but you cannot control my life anymore, and I am not going to go back to a man that does not love me." I explained to her calmly but with boldness behind my tone. I then heard starting to sob and someone taking the phone away from her, her heels on the hardwood floor stomping away and I sighed in both relief and in pain for doing this to my family.

"Honey, it's your father." I smiled slightly, hearing my father's deep voice and almost sounded like my Uncle's voice.

"Hey, dad." I simply replied, since most of the energy that I used was on my mother's rant to me and her trying to scare me into coming back home.

"Listen, I can handle your mother and I will talk to her. I don't want you to come home either, okay?" He asked, having me freeze up in my spot in the main lobby.

"You want me to stay?" I asked him in confusion.

"If what you're doing right now is the best thing for you, then I don't want you to come back if you don't want to. I just want you to be careful and think about being there in the army, if that is the best thing for you at the moment. I wouldn't mind if you went back to your Uncle's for even a year or two." My father explained calmly.

"Dad, this is the best thing for me right now. I'm fine here, and nothing's going to happen to me that I can't handle. I just…I can't go back there after what he did to me." I confessed to him softly, leaning against the wall and closing my eyes in defeat from just talking to my father.

"Well, I don't blame you. Your mother is still convinced in this marriage and I think it's a wrong road for you, so just stay out there and stay safe. But would you at least write to us and let us know how you are?" He asked in hope in his tone.

"I would, but mom's gonna write back in hopes that I changed my mind." I replied back to him in a mourning kind of tone. If one person that could really see where I was coming from when it came to the battle with my mother, other than my brothers, it was my father. He knew how hard it was for me to try and conform to my mother's ideal image of a perfect daughter.

"I will talk to her and ease everything that is going on with her. But I do want you to write, and I will write back to you personally. Deal?" He asked me over the phone. I was about to answer him when I was someone watching me from the spot over at the front desk in the lobby. I was a good thirty feet away, hunched over with the phone against my ear and the receiver in my hand, looking like I was on the verge of a breakdown. He was one of the new soldiers that we scared earlier that day, and now he was seeing me be vulnerable. I should be threatened, trying to toughen up in front of him, not I wasn't do that.

I just stared, seeing him stare at me right back and give somewhat a small smile on his face. He was trying to show that was not even close to being a threat. He had brown hair, short but wavy against his head with a thick jawline and bright blue eyes, almost far too pretty to be a soldier here. Compared to the other soldiers there that came in that day, he looked more clean and naive than hardcore and intense. I gave him a small smile back, thinking that a smile was no harm since he wasn't making fun of me nor was he judging me. He walked away then, going out the building before I went back to the conversation with my father on the other line.

"Deal."

* * *

I walked the phone back over to the front desk and I was about to hand it to the worker there when another private soldier walked over to me, handing me a slip of paper but saluting to me first.

"1st Liuetenant Kit." he addressed me, having me salute back as he gave me the paper and I looked at it, "You're needed by Colonel Sink and Captain Jacobs in T-minus 5 minutes."

"Thank you." I thanked him and we saluted each other once more before he walked off. Reading the paper I was no confused as to what to think about with this new information. Apparently they wanted to talk about my future endeavors with both Wolf Company and with another Company that might need me in the war.

Easy Company. They wanted me for Easy Company.


	3. Chapter 3

"Please come in," the door was opened to me as I was facing the inside of Captain Jacob's office that was near the other offices for the Captains in Fort Benning. After I received the order to go to his office, I was mostly confused as to why another Company was interested in receiving my services and my skills, since Wolf Company was supposedly off the grid for other Companies to use and train with them. We were meant to be isolated from the others, apparently they are both intimidated and somewhat questioning our own Company and what we did with our training. So this was somewhat a shock, yet I had no time to go tell the others in Wolf Company what was going on.

Captain Jacobs was there in all his glory and in his uniform, the dirty blond hair pushed to the side in a uniform manner and his eyes were on me as I walked into the office. But he wasn't alone, another Captain was there with him and standing in front of him with his hands behinds his back and none other than Colonel Sink there standing near the window. I froze them, standing at attention and seeing Colonel Sink look over his shoulder at me as I saluting him.

"I was called in to see Captain Jacobs, sir." I informed him.

"Yes, I was the one who requested to see you." he explained to me as he faced me completely in his dress uniform with all of his marks as a Colonel and the stern look on his face.

"I was telling Colonel Sink about your hard work in Wolf Company, along with your skills with your rifle," Jacobs informed me calmly though I could see him shift his eyes over to Sink every once in awhile with some kind of worry in his eyes. Was something wrong?

"I was skeptical about this whole situation of an all female Company here in the army, yet from all the progress that was given to me by all of the members of this Company, I am very impressed," Sink explained to me as he walked over to stand in front of me, though my eyes are shifting over to see the other Captain, who looked more tight-lipped than the others in the room.

"Because of reading and seeing the high marks on your end, I am highly considering you to come on a few missions with Easy Company along the war front." Sink went on some more as I watched him again from my spot and I kept my hands behind my back the whole time. Did he want me to join in with another Company? Why would that be the case?

"I read your file that Captain Jacobs gave me," Sink pointed to the thick file on Jacob's desk, my eyes following his finger that was on top of the blue folder, "Joined the army at 22, the youngest in Wolf Company and you have been shooting a rifle for about 8 years. Now tell me, who taught you to shoot?"

"My father, sir." I replied back smoothly.

"Your father is one of the top army weapons manufacturers on the west coast, and the highest grossing company in both Washington and Oregon. So, coming from a highly respected family, why did you choose to come into the army?" He asked me, having me think about it for a mere sends before answering.

"I wanted a change of pace, sir. My life was pretty boring." I replied back, seeing Jacobs smirk from the corner of my eye.

"You have also learned both Sign Language here in the army along with a hint of German, which is a good trade to know what we want you to do while going into the field," Sink went on with the information that was about me, "With that being said, I'm going to negotiate about moving you to come alongside Easy Company. We need a skilled soldier who knows how to get in and out of a situation without being caught, grab information we need on the enemy and send it to us in order to better advance in this war." I nodded my head to show that I was listening. They needed a spy, even though I was more skilled in assassination tactics and weapons than undercover work. So why did they choose me?

"Captain Sobel here is the leader for Easy Company," I looked over at Sobel, who still looked intense and was looking dead ahead, note even at me as Sinks went on, "He is not easily persuaded by the notion of a female soldier being partnered with his company, one of the best companies here in the war. So he has convinced me to have you do a demonstration for us to see how good you are with your rifle and combat skills." Inside I really wanted to protest with him. With Wolf Company, we never really needed a reason to demonstrate our skills to other soldiers and Captains, because they were convinced enough. But now I had to somewhat prove that I was a great soldier in the eyes of two men: one who was only reading the facts, and the other who thought I was merely a woman who can't handle anything.

Let me show them.

* * *

I waited on the front starting line that was drawn for me on the grassy floor. I thought I was only going to be showing my skill for Sink, Sobel and Jacobs, all of them who were waiting on the sideline near one jeep. But I was surely wrong, since two more soldiers were there from Easy Company, one of them being a 1st Lieutenant and the other was 2nd Lieutenant. They looked clean shaven though a bit older compared to the new soldiers that I saw who looked like they were my age. These guys were older, older and almost a bit wiser with the 1st Lieutenant sporting red hair and smooth pale skin, and the 2nd Lieutenant with big brown eyes and dark hair smoothed over to the side and a thick jawline.

In front of me was the sniper training course that was made some years ago that I worked at five time a week, obstacles set up all over the place to both hide behind and shoot at, going for a long while along the green grass and ended at the edge of the forest where it began. I have done this trial at least a dozen times, more than that to be completely honest and I know this like the back of my hand. At first, when I started with this course, I wanted to make the precise shots, but now it was all about speed and how I was standing compared to being slacked with my body. This was going to be a cakewalk, so I tried to picture them not there. Imagining that I was once again alone on the course and no one was there analyzing my every step and how I held the gun.

"Go." Jacobs said aloud, having me instantly run over to the first hiding post, a overturned wooden door that was propped up and I hid behind it while throwing my rifle over my shoulder. Hoisting it over, I propped the gun on top of the door, peering through the scoop and seeing the first three targets 700 feet away and I shot at all three of them without even blinking. I then got himself up and over the door in one swift movement and then running over to the next obstacle and then shooting at it without breathing out slowly and getting it right in the middle as I slammed my body to the floor to lay out against the grass and then aiming that the next target that was in my line of sight. I shot once, then throwing down my rifle to grad the pistol against my hip in my holster to shoot up from behind the hidden area and aiming with my one good hand and shooting the next few targets with both eyes open and my stance stern on the grassy ground. There was a hint of pride gong through me in how I was showing off in front of the men, acting like any other soldier but clearly I was more agile and smaller compared to the men there.

With every shot that I took with the pistol and then another round with the rifle, the more I really just wanted to have the full satisfaction within myself for how I was presenting myself in front of the groups of men and officers that were watching. I wanted to be prideful, like the rest of the girls were when someone was watching them doing the extant same thing with their trade. But I was not like them, not even close. Even Beta had a bit more pride within herself compared to me, so it must have been the past burdens and pains from having me become more and more confident in what I was doing and how I could carry myself. I couldn't do it right in front of me with such vulnerability, so I resorted to hiding behind a rifle and a pistol.

Once I was finished with the rounds in both my rifle and in my pistol, I stood what I was doing right in the middle of the grassy training grounds and looked over at the group of men with my rifle still in my hands, watching them all stare at me with both shock, intrigue and amazement in their eyes. I didn't show anything in my face but watched them as the officers went to talk to Sink and the two lieutenants watched me from their spots away from the officers on the other side of the jeep, not moving with their arms folded in front of their chests. I wondered what they are thinking about since they saw me do this, and what this meant for me.

Why as I suddenly important?

* * *

Beta threw me over her shoulder, again, and I landed on the floor before moving to go back onto my feet again and roll off my back to face her again, hands in front of me and seeing her smirk at me with her fingerless gloves and her hair pulled back in a messy ponytail with some of the strands out in front of her eyes. We were sparring again, and she was defeating me over and over since this was her forte.

_Try again. _ She signed to me as I grinned to breathe out slowly. I ran over to her again, the both of us grabbed the others shoulders and going into another sparring round. This was our fourth round, and the fourth time I was defeated at the agile and limber hands of Beta. She was the one who was the best with hand to hand, and was the one who was teaching the rest of us on how to get in and out of a fist fight with another person. Thank God she knew how to box and how to be quick and slick in front of someone.

I dodged her quick jab at me, ducking and trying to get my hands on her upper arms to throw her to the floor, but she slipped through my fingers ounce again and then she grabbed my arm to twist it behind me and shove it against my back to get me stuck. I tapped my shoulder to haver her see me show that I was giving in, hearing her chuckle and then release my arm and the both of us standing side by side again.

_You're getting better_. She signed back to me with a grin on her face as we both were walking over to the bench where our canteens were. Sitting next to each other and drinking from our own canteen for a moment or two to catch out breaths.

_I'm still not as good as you. You're still kicking my ass_. I signed to her and seeing her just smirk as she took another drink before waving at me to get my attention when I was about to retie my boots on my training uniform.

_Those officers that were here yesterday, what did they want?_ She asked with a shrug of her shoulders.

_They are thinking of sending me with Easy Company on a couple of missions in the war._ I replied back to her casually, though I was still thinking and battling it out in my own head.

_Why would they do that? _ She pressed on with another question.

_Who knows. I'm thinking that need a spy_. I explained to her as she thought to herself for a moment to two. I could see the wheels turning in her own head, and Beta was rather smart about these kind of things.

_You're a good candidate for something like that then. You're a good fighter, not to mention best at the gun._ She explained to me then with boldness in her singing and in how she was showing her facial expression.

_I'm a shooter, not a spy_ I argued with her, though she shook her head.

_You're more than that, Kit._ She reminded me. Leave it to sweet and kind Beta to remind me over and over that I was more than I would give myself credit for. It wasn't that I had no spine, that wasn't the problem. The problem was that I would find myself with less confidence on certain days when someone knew was placed on my lap, meaning this new opportunity to be with a new company…filled with men.

_You wanna go grab some food?_ I signed to her with a raised eyebrow. She made a fist and moved it up and down to say _yes_. We both got up, canteens in hand and we alkyd out of the training building that we were in to head over to the mess hall. It was cool that night, some of the soldiers were out jogging together and others were stilt training with their weapons and how to assemble their rifle. I was just glad we were done for the day, since I wanted to write to my father and only him. But knowing my mother, she would get her hands on the letter and think of the worst.

When we were inside the mess hall with the countless rows of tables and benches as we made our way to the line that was made up of soldiers waiting with their trays for their food to be piled onto their plates. Beta was behind me and I stood behind a soldier whom looked familiar, but I couldn't place my finger on it as we approached the assembly line of food and I grabbed what I wanted to eat. It was when the soldier in front of me grabbed for his tray that I realized who it was: the same soldier who saw me in the lobby of the administration building. I remembered that face, his bright eyes and the jawline along with his curly brown hair that was against his skin. I said nothing, but it was when I grabbed my own tray when he spoke up to me.

"Hi." I looked over at him, seeing him smile at me and watch me for my own reaction.

"Hello." I replied to him calmly, though it was still polite enough. I wasn't like the others in Wolf Company whom would be somewhat intimidating to those who try to be nice to them. They were thick skinned, and I was still trying to find my own spine from time to time,

"Were you the one who was in the lobby the other day, on the phone?" He asked me curiosity, though it sounded a but blunt in the way he said it.

"That was me, I remember you with your baby blue eyes," I replied back to him, seeing his smirk get bigger when I talked about his eyes, "You the heartbreaker around here that's new?"

"I doubt that," he replied, then holding out his hand for me to shake, "I'm David. My Company calls me Webster, or Web for short."

"I'm Kit." I said back, shaking his hand and holding my tray in one hand. He looked at me in confusion.

"Kit? That's a nickname I take it?" He asked me as we reached the end of the line.

"You could say that." I replied as I felt Beta tap my shoulder. I looked back at her, seeing her sign _what did he say? _ to me.

_He wanted to know my name. He saw me talk to my dad on the phone the other day._ I explained to her with one hand in my signing as David watched with wide eyes. I looked back at him and smiled since he was having no clue what was going on with the signing.

"She's also in Wolf Company with me, her name is Beta. Unfortunately she's deaf so our whole Company learned Sign Language." I explained to him as the three of us stood together at the end with our trays in our hands.

"But she can read lips though?" Webster asked, having me look to see Beta smile and nod her head with a grin on her face. I smirked from seeing the pure innocence on both of their faces as David then pointed with his try over to a table near the front of the mess hall.

"Do you guys want to sit with us? I'm with a couple of my buddies from Easy." He explained with optimism in his voice. I froze for a moment, hearing that he was from Easy. He was from the Company that was wanting me to join them for a couple of missions. Did he know that I was the one who was going to join them, the infamous female sniper who would be an amazing spy? Did they tell him and the others what my name was?

"Easy Company?" I asked, trying to make sure I heard it right.

"Yeah, why? You heard of us?" He asked me, not seeing that I was kind of freaking out on the inside with the news of his own Company and where he came from. But I didn't show it, not yet.

"I heard you were the guys that just came in the other day." I replied back to him, seeing him no his head as the three of us walked together over to the table where he was leading us. As we walked, I felt Beta tap me and I looked over at her as we were walking side by side together.

_Isn't that the Company that you might be going to? _She asked me with one of her hands and trying to balance the tray in her other hand as we kept up with him and the table he was going to was getting closer and closer.

_Yep._ I replied back with my hand as we stopped with him in front of the table and saw a couple others who were at the table, already eating their own food and looking up right at us to see who was standing at their table. There were four of them, and the way they were looking at us was like we were about to be analyzed and judged on the spot. Both Beta and I stood side by side, looking at the four men as David was sitting down at the bench without realizing what was going on. What should I do? Why was I freaking out talking to a bunch of random guys, since the last time I talked to a guy around my age, it did go downhill and ended in a shattered lifestyle.

"Web, you just walked over here with two women and you're not going to introduce us?" The first man said in a low tone, though it didn't sound threatening but it sounded like his own tone of voice and how he spoke on a regular basis. He sounded like he was some Philadelphia, some swag in his tone in how he was still staring to the both of us though he was talking to David.

"Sorry, this is Kit and Beta from Wolf Company," David said, looking up from taking a drink from his tin can and then looking at the both of us, "These are my friends from Easy Company: Bill Guarnene, Donald Malarky, and Frank Perconte." I looked at the other two soldiers there, the redhead who looked clean shaven and had a small smile on his face compared to the first soldier who might have been Guarnene, and the third soldier who was a bit smaller compared to the other two and had a look of skepticism on his face.

"Hi." I said to the both of them, Beta giving a friendly wave from next to me.

"I invited them to eat with us," David said to the three boys as he then looked up and over at me, "Come on, grab a seat. We don't bite."

"Speak for yourself, Webster." the redhead replied to him as both Beta and I sat down carefully at the table. Beat was still smiling with her friendly optimism, which was such a contrast to the job description that we had in the army. I looked at all three of the men who were still looking back at me, though the one who was named Bill was looking at the sigma on our shoulder on our jackets.

"Kit and Beta, those can't be your real names, are they?" the smaller soldier asked me.

"We only used code names in our Company, not our real names," I explained to him calmly, almost like I was at an interview.

"You from Wolf Company, yeah?" Bill asked me, having me nod my head once and grab my fork to starting eating my food in order to break this uncomfortable silence that was going on at the table.

"I heard about you guys: The all female Company and the first one in the army's history." The redhead, Malarky, said with more lightness in his voice as he was watching the both of us with wide eyes that were a bit warmer than Bill's eyes.

"That we are," I answered him, seeing him smirk from hearing the news that was true as the third day name Perconte shifted a bit in his spot at the table next to Malarky.

"I think I remember you guys throwing a knife at me the other day," He said in almost a low tone, having me cough and fold my hands on the table. I remembered the day vividly, and now that he mentioned it I remember him being the one who had the knife throwing at him and being missed purposely. Poor guy.

"That was Viper." I informed him, though no one moved.

"Viper?" He asked, a eyebrow raised and sounding like he wasn't understanding.

"Yeah, her name is Viper. She's good with knives." I explained to him lightly, as if it was some other conversation that people would have with one another.

"We've heard stories about you guys here when we got here," Malarky said aloud to me getting my attention again, "Some of the guys here say that you guys are trained killers."

"What do you think?" I asked him, really wondering of how he thought of us in Wolf Company. He passed for a second, analyzing me up and down and then looking over at Beta, whom was eating her food like nothing was really going on.

"I don't think you're killers." He said carefully, like he was treading on thin ice and if he was going to say one thing that was wrong, he would drown. I just save him a gentle look, knowing that if I eyed him the same way as the others would eye him, then I would scare him. I didn't want to scare him, he seemed too kind.

"We get that a lot." I said back to him as I took a bite from my food and I saw him give me a intruiging look, "A lot of guys around here underestimate us, but I think we can shut them up when we show them how to properly shoot a gun and even how hold a knife to someone's jugular without piercing the skin." All three of the men, and also David, were frozen now looking at the both of us as I ate some more and stared right back at Malarky and I could see him take in a deep gulp, like he was afraid to say something else.

"So you guys didn't want be nurses?" Perconte asked with a hint of confusion on his face. I grinned at him, pointing to both Beta and myself.

"We would have gotten bored, much too slow for our kind of pace." I replied back to him in a light tone again when he looked at Beta now as she was still hearing.

"She doesn't talk a whole lot, does she?" He asked.

"She's deaf." I answered him, seeing the color of his face melt away. It was light he just insulted her right in front of her and in front of me,

"Oh Christ." He said, and I could tell he was about to blame himself for sounding like an ass.

"It's fine, she gets that a lot." I explained to him in hopes that he would feel better. Beta looked up from her food and she grinned over at me, having me smile at her.

_They seem nice_. She signed to me, having me nod my head.

"What did she say?" David asked from next to me.

"She think you guys are nice." I translated for him.

"She's a soldier, yet she's deaf?" Bill asked, though I knew he wasn't trying to be cruel himself but it sounded less optimistic.

"She's skilled in fist fighting. She can whip your ass and break your nose within two seconds if you let her try." I explained, but his eyes darted to her and watched her. Bill's eyes were wide as Beta just grinned with her fork in hand like a small puppy and with no threatening atmosphere around her. It was amusing for me to see, and she was still kind enough to be passed on any other girl.

"So, where are you guys from then?" Malarky asked me.

"Well, Beta here is from North Carolina, and I'm from Washington." I explained back to him then taking another bite from my food, but I could see he perked up a bit when I mentioned Washington.

"Whereabouts?" He pressed on.

"Seattle." I answered.

"No shit! I'm from Oregon myself, thank God there's another Pacific Northwestern around here." He said in a light manner and a chuckle, making me grin at him and Bill rolled his eyes.

"Great, another person you can brag to about the weather and no longer bore us with the conversation." He said in a grumble as he ate his own food.

"You figured on getting great weather out here in Georgia I take it?" I asked him back, feeling the conversation at the table was getting lighter.

"Sure, since I did grow up in fog and rain. The same for you?" He asked, eating some more of his food but keeping his eyes on me for answer. I paused, not knowing how to answer that question to the real reason why I left my rich family to come to the army. I just met the guy, but the simple question he was asking me was like I was being asked to jump out of a plane again, or being held at gunpoint to confess the sin that happened to me that would forever plague my life. So, for now, I had to think of a good lie, and pray to God that I would not have to tell anyone in the army what happened to me anytime soon.

"Sure, something like that."


	4. Chapter 4

"Loose" I released the arrow from my bow, watching it fly right into the target and I grinned, lowering the bow and looking at Artemis who was with me and training me with the bow and arrow. After having dinner with four of the Easy members, it felt a bit better that I would see them from time to time with the rest of their Company, and they would smile at me and wave. I would wave back though I would get awkward stares from the other girls who wonder why I was smiling at them in the first place, but they always knew I was the peacemaker of the group other than Beta and the oddball out with the Wolf Company ladies.

"Good job, keep your weight on the right foot since that's your dominate foot," Artemis instructed me as I looked over at her. She was leaning on her longbow, using it as a leaning tool on the cool grass and her hair was in a dutch braid and then wrapped in a bun behind her head with her warm face for me to see. We both were wearing our training attire which consisted of our black BDU pants, tank tops, fingerless gloves and sleeveless vests that had our signmas on our chests and our military rankings on the shoulders. Artemis had her sheath on her back as well as I did on my hip, the straps on my legs and my rifle over my shoulder since it was far too comfortable to be anywhere else.

"Try one more time, for my sake since I'm such a perfectionist with my students." Artemis joked with me, having me roll my eyes and take out another arrow from my sheath on my hip and leg, reloading on my bow and then using both eyes to aim at the same target in order to get it right. I released within an instant, seeing that it curved to the right and I grimaced as Artemis just grinned.

"Don't even start criticizing me." I wanted her as I placed the bow down and looked at her in annoyance.

"I'm not going to say a word, but I think you know how to rush into your target instead of taking one breath and cooling yourself down. You pump yourself up in your stance before you breathe, Kit." Artemis explained to me as I breathed out uncomfortably.

"I figured as much, still sucks though," I grumbled to her and her grin never left her face.

"Hey, at least you have a good eye with the rifle, for one, I can see shit compared to you." She complimented me though she was trying to make me feel better about myself and my training with the bow. I couldn't help but smile, seeing the unique side of Artemis and how she too could light up a room though when it came to her fighting, she was a force to be reckoned with.

"So, I heard you talked to your dad the other day on the phone." Artemis said to me, watching me with her bright yet cool eyes as I was about to draw out another arrow but paused on the subject matter. Was she wanting to talk about my father? Now? Of all times and at all places? I looked at her with a quizzing look as I loaded the bow against the string.

"Do I even want to know who told you?" I asked her as I got the bow against my body, ready to aim and shoot at the target. Looking at the target, I waited for an answer from her as I took her advice and finally breathed out softly before aiming with my fingers.

"Beta." She answered as I released the arrow, seeing it hit the target dead on and then looking over at her, "Don't be mad at her for telling me about you, she cares. We all care about you Kit, and yet you choose not to tell me why you ran away from home in the first place."

"Artemis, it's a bit complicated and I really don't want to get into it." I said to her cautiously, but I could tell she wasn't buying it.

"Kit, it's okay to tell us. Of all people here in Fort Benning, we are not going to be judging you since we are practically a family here." Artemis advised me as I was thinking about it more and more. But it was still hard enough to think about it over and over in my head as I reloaded another arrow onto the bow string and aimed.

"Now I'm going to go out on a really far limb here, but I'm thinking it has nothing to do with your family?" Artemis asked me as she watched me, though I breathed out slowly again to aim, seeing his head there and wanting to rip it pieces from all he did to me.

"Nope." I replied, still not releasing the arrow from my fingers and seeing if she was going to guess it right on the head. I give her credit, Artemis was smart enough to catch bullshit on someone from a mile away, and she has done that before with us in Wolf Company. Hell, she knew there was something in my own past from just looking at me and seeing how I was sitting in a chair, she could be the real spy compared to the rest of us.

"It was a boy, wasn't it?" Her voice was now a bit more concern that she was getting it right, though I released the arrow when she talked about it being about a boy. Once again, it hit the target but with a hint more speed behind it and it made a thump of a sound against the cool silence in the area. Lowering the bow, I simply looked back at her and I saw her look right at me to see if I was telling the truth. She was reading my eyes, and I was letting her, because it was now no longer a question if I could hide it from her any longer, but if I was willing to let her into my nightmare that I would relive almost every night. Before she could say anything, much to her dismay, she looked over and away from me and I looked to see where she was looking.

"What the hell?" She voiced out as a group of Easy Company men were walking out way now, having me holding the bow in one hand and grab my rifle strap in the other to stand next to Artemis and we both watched them walk over to us across the field. I recognized the redhead, Malarky, and Bill Guarnene along with Webster from the dinner I had with them sometime before. But now there were others there, walking with him like they were going to watch us do something impressive though Artemis and I did not see them as a threat.

"Hey there, Kit!" Malarky said aloud to me with a short wave and a big smile on his face. Artemis looked over at me with a raised eyebrow and I just grinned at her, shrugging my shoulders since she had no clue that I knew them.

"I'll explain later," I said to her as I moved away from her over to the boys, all whom were watching me as I smiled at Malarky, "Hello Don. Good to see you again, but what's with the posy behind you?"

"Malarky here told us about you and the Wolf Company, and we decided to come out and see if it was true." Another soldier said aloud in almost a cocky tone, too cocky for Artemis and myself as I heard her walking over to stand with me, bow in hand and her determined look was on her face as she stared at him like he was on her hit list. I did the same, since the one thing that I have learned about being here in Fort. Benning, was never to trust the mouths of those who were hearing stories.

"If what was true?" I asked him carefully, though my voice was a bit bold as both Artemis and I were somewhat sizing him up. As soon as I said that, I saw him sweat a bit in front of me, as well as a couple of the other guys there in the small gang of Easy men. The only ones who said nothing and kept their cool was Malarky and Webster. I knew they were not going to double cross us in how we can handle ourselves since they believed the stories and were not fooled.

The cocky soldier gulped as Artemis loaded one of her own arrows on the bow string without loosing eye contact with him, pulling the arrow up slowly in front of her like she was ready for him to draw and make a move for her to release it on him. That was her play, the archer in our group acting like a pure killer with her arrows and her death glare.

"Nothing." He replied, having me see Webster give him a sideways glance and Malarky just sigh in either defeat or in annoyance.

"I told you they weren't going to be easy to talk to like that, Cobb." Malarky said over his shoulder at the colder, whom said nothing and looked embarrassed as the others were chucking from the calling out of sheer annoyance on him. I looked over at Artemis, seeing her lower her bow to not be loaded and ready, the arrow getting some slack as Webster looked over at her.

"You a friend of Kit's?" He asked in politeness with his blue eyes sparkling.

"That I am, I'm Artemis." She introduced herself, a bit more cheerful but none the less still hesitant to give into full vulnerability.

"Artemis? Sounds more masculine, don't you think?" Another soldier asked, gruff fin his voice as he stood next to Guarnene and Guarnene only smirked from his comment.

"Coming from a guy with the name Toye?" someone voiced out with a roll of his eyes, "Artemis is a Greek Goddess, the Goddess of hunting if you wanna know." Artemis smirked from the information that was said from the one soldier, who looked more bitch faced that the rest though he gave us a small smirk on his own face and showing some kind of kindness.

"You know your Greek theology." She commented to him. He grinned, shrugging his shoulders as his arms were crossed.

"My wife made me read some books, so I know a thing or two thanks to her." He replied in a small grin since he was being called out in front of all the men.

"Your wife is smart." Artemis complimented and he grinned from ear to ear.

"Is that Johnny Martin finally grinning for once?" Malarky said in a joking tone, though the smile on the soldier's face disappeared when he was being called out for smiling.

"Can it." Johnny replied to him, having me grin at the banter between the men at that point.

"So what brings you men out here in our neck of the woods?" Artemis asked them.

"Well, other than Cobb trying to see if you guys were going to confess to whatever the hell he wanted to talk about, we asked around to the others here at Fort Benning and we heard that you're the best sniper here." Johnny explained to me, as though he was sizing me up and down and I just grinned at him. I heard those stories too, but it felt kind of prideful when another soldier was telling me that straight to my face instead of it being whispered behind my back.

"Is that right?" I asked him, seeing Artemis grin from her spot next to me.

"Now, we have another sharp shooter in our Company, goes by the name of Shifty." He explained some more, then moving our of the way for me to see the soldier behind him. He was a around the same height, though he had a gentle face there and a kind smile. Sure he was intimidating to look at, but neither was I.

"Hi,"He merely said to me, almost sounding a bit shy to begin with but none the less kind, almost like he was dragged over here by the rest of the men and I felt kind of bad for the kid.

"Let me guess, you want the both of us to have some kind of contest to see who's the better shooter?" I asked the group of men, all of whom were just smirking and that showed me that they hit it right on the head. Artemis looked down at her feet on the grass, smirking like she knew that I was going to win and was trying so hard not to show it.

"Bad choice, my friends." She warned them lightly.

"Why is that?" Malarky asked, not seeing the obvious joke on her face.

"Because I don't think any other soldier has had the balls to go up against a member of the Wolf Company in a contest, and win." She replied in her light tone, the smile still on her face as if this was some kind of game when she looked at the men. They all then eyed me, though I kept my eyes stern as I saw the one they wanted to bring to challenge me, Shifty, look at me with big eyes, it made me smile at him the small innocent smile that I would use all the time.

"You don't have to go up against me if you don't want to." I advised him softly, though the others weren't going to have it.

"He can take ya." Cobb said in a boisterous manner, though I rolled my eyes.

"You want him to try and win against a girl, I totally get it." I explained to him, "I would want to have my own pride be on the line as much as the next guy. But trust me, I'm not worth all of the time and wasted bullets." As I said this, I walked over to the area where Artemis and I were at before, eyeing her and seeing her smirk from my small excuse of a rant on the boys as they were watching me and waiting to see what I was going to do. I just drew out one of the bows from my hip, pulling it back against the string without taking my eyes off the men as I aimed at the target away from me, the bow in front of my body but aiming for the target that was a good 60 feet away without breaking eye contact.

"But if you still want to take me on with aiming and precision," I said to Shifty as I released the bow, hearing it hit the target within a second and all of their eyes going wide to see that I, once again, hit the middle of the target board though I was still staring at them. I had to use my perophrial vision to shoot, but I was so used to it at this point and I grinned at them all, "Let's see what you can do."

Shifty gulped, Artemis snickered as the others were looking at each other in hesitance when I lowered the bow down to my side and then pushed my hair out of my eyes.

"I'm gonna pass." Shifty said in a small tone, almost like he was petrified to just speak to me from what I did, "But I do have to ask, can you teach me that trick?" I grinned from ear to ear when he pointed to the target with wide eyes and optimism there etched on his face. I nodded my head, already feeling better about myself with the men there and how I stood my ground in front of them without the other girls anywhere near me.

"Count on it, Shifty."

* * *

I woke up again that night from another nightmare, the same nightmare that has been playing in my head over and over since I called Andrew to save me. I was the nightmare that had me wonder if I was ever going to be the same again, and I knew I wasn't going to be. I sighed in defeat, knowing that it was never going to be the same for me when it came to dreams, looking above me in my cot in our cabin and wondering what time it was. It must have been early in the morning, though I didn't care. Throwing my legs over to touch the ground, I got on my training BDU pants, my jacket and I threw my hair up in a messy bun along with my boots on my feet. Everyone else was asleep in the cabin, though I was not going to make a sound anyways since I was trained on how to be stealth like in moments of darkness. So I walked over, grabbing the training bow that I had from Artemis and also getting the sheath of arrows that was propped against it.

I did this every other night.

Walked across the law in the mere early morning there in Fort Benning, I realized I had a sick and bad habit of going out on my own to shoot at things in order to get my head straight. I've been doing this since I came to the training grounds, and since Artemis taught me how to shoot with the bow and arrow. She reminded me once, when I was barely getting the target right, that shooting with the bow and arrow was more therapeutic than other thought it would be. It was something to do to get both pain, and confusion out of your system, to bring back the sense of control over yourself and know that you control where the arrow was going. It was same thing with my rifle, I had control on who I was going to shoot and with what kind of aim.

If only my life was so easy like that.

So I found myself in front of the target about 80 feet away, shooting time after time at the target there and not blinking. But to be fair, I was not aiming at the middle. I was just shooting, only because I need to get that pain of the nightmare out of my head and into my fingers when I would pull back and aim with my muscles in my core and in my arms.

So I would shoot over and over again, to remind myself that I was alive, From what happened to me, I should be dead. But no, for some reason God wanted me to lie beyond the pain that I would feel and the fear that would go down my spine when something would remind me of him and what he did to me. With every shot, I was breathing out a piece of the pain that I was threatening to bottle up inside of me and never let go, but I then heard it, right behind me.

Someone was watching me.

"You know you shouldn't be alone out here." I looked behind me, over my shoulder with my bow now at my side and my other arm near the sheath against my hip and the arrows, seeing it was another soldier there watching me and having a look of interest in his eyes. I never saw him before, nor have I even heard his voice before. But from the ranking on his arm, he was no private, more than a Sergeant. I just stared at him, getting out a profile of his face and seeing the sharpness of his nose, the stern jawline, and the eyes looking right at me that were just as bright as a cloudless sky.

"I don't mind being alone." I replied to him simply, seeing that he was no threat to me. It was funny, I never saw one soldier here in Fort Benning as a threat, compared to Gerald and how he carried himself.

"It's a strange time to shoot arrows, don't you think?" he asked me, taking a step towards me and I took a step away from him without even thinking about it. He saw me do this and he froze, the mere action of me moving away from me must have had him a bit concerned as he gave me a small smile and showed both of his hands to me, like he was trying to prove that he was not going to harm me at all.

"I don't mean to scare you, ma'am." he said to me with such sincerity that it kind of made me feel and that I was giving off a vibe that I was threatened by him and scared of him. It was the mere memories of what happened to me that conditioned me to be afraid of other men that both intrigued me and frightened me. And this man in front of me, though I didn't know his name, was doing that very thing. It wasn't his fault, and I lick my lips.

"It's just a habit." I replied to him, seeing him smile at me again, with this smile that a sense of peace. He wasn't showing a sneaky smile, or a smile that was hiding something. No, this looked like a real smile to me. So he pointed to the target then, though my eyes never left his.

"Why are you out here anyways, if you don't mind me asking?" He asked me in wonder. I sighed, looking down at the bow in my hand and rubbing my red hair in my fingers.

"I needed some air. I can't sleep anymore." I replied back to him, "And what about you?"

"The same." He answered back to me, "Though I never thought I would see a member of Wolf Company out here by herself."

"I tend to break out of the mold, though you're the first soldier out here to be bold enough to sneak up behind me without getting a warning shot to the head." I explained to him in more of a lighter tone, though he stayed still I saw the grin still on his face.

"I tend to break out of the mold." He quoted me, having me keep my grin there and see that he was really not harmful to me, just making conversation as I shifted a bit in my spot there on the grass.

"You from Dog Company?" I asked him, seeing his own Sigma on his jacket and he looked too, and from his profile I could see that he was a bit handsome in the small amount of light in the nighttime there.

"That I am." He said back to me, though I stayed still as he looked back at me.

"What's your name?" I asked him, walking over to him with my bow in hand and seeing him stand still and watch me with his eyes as I was now right in front of him. His face, as stern as it looked, was in fact interesting to look at. I confess that he was good looking, with the rigid features and how he was carrying himself like he knew who he was, as if there was no question there. He then held out his hand for me to shake and I shook it after a second or two of staying still there. Even shaking his hand made me see that he was more confident than others, and the way he stared at me was like he liked where he was there on that grassy open area.

"I'm Kit." I introduced myself to him. He grinned at me, and I was no longer thinking of the nightmares that were once plaguing my mind mere minutes before he spoke to me,.

"Ronald Spiers."


	5. Chapter 5

"You're transferring me to Easy?" I asked Captain Jacobs as I stood in front of him, hands behind my back but my face was surely surprised as Jacobs was looking right at me with his letter on his desk. Two days after I met with the mysterious Ronald Spiers, I was still training with the others in Wolf Company, though I knew other Captains were watching me at my work with a sniper, especially Captain Sobel and his two Lieutenants that were under his command.

"I just got the letter today from Colonel Sink himself," Jacobs informed me, though I shifted a bit in my stance and I could feel as though I was placed in this position and not ready for it. With a new Company? What was going to happen to the others in Wolf Company? Where was I going to end up with this group of men? Oh God, how was I going to handle this group of men? I only knew from of them from both the mess hall meeting and meeting Webster in the lobby when he saw me bitch out to my own mother.

"He is considering spreading out Wolf Company amongst other Companies for their assignments," He explained to me as he pointed to the letter in front of him, having me see the type-written letter and Colonel Sink's signature at the bottom that was stained in pen.

"Spreading out, sir?" I asked him, still not understanding what is going on and how this was going to be a part of my life now.

"As of tomorrow, Colonel Sink is requesting that specific members of Wolf Company will be assigned to other Companies within the 506th Regiment and 1st Airborne. You were the fist one on the list that he wanted to assign, and he chose Easy Company for you." Jacob explained to me calmly though I was looking at him now to shock.

"Why would he want to do that?" I asked him, pausing to collect myself since it sounded more like shock than it was calm and collected, "Sir."

"He has seen the great progress of Wolf Company and he is wanting to push on with the initiative. Since this is the first all felafel company in army history, he is pushing this campaign ten fold." Jacobs went on as if I didn't make such an outcry or burst. It was off for Sink to go through with Wolf Company in the war since at first he was so skeptical about the whole situation and not thinking that it would go through smoothly and be successful.

"So he wants me to be with Easy?" I asked, making sure that what he said was right.

"He is personally proud of Easy Company that is under his command, it's one the best Companies that he has had since they formed at Camp Toccoa. Sink sees potential in you, as do I and Lieutenants Winters and Nixon whom also requested your services for Easy." Jacobs said back as he got up from his chair now, still facing me and giving me that stern but comforting stare.

"They requested me? What about Captain Sobel?" I asked him, remembering the stern looking Captian who said nothing to me when I did the demonstration in front of them some time ago.

"That's the other half of the letter that I didn't tell you yet. Although you will be serving with Easy Company in any missions that they partake in, you are still going to report to me personally. I have missions for you and you alone, the first being the extermination of German Officers that you come across on the front lines." He explained, having me get an uneasy feeling in my chest from what I was hearing.

"Sir?" I asked, trying to hear it right.

"You are assigned to take out any German Officers, that's your main goal and objective in this war. German Officers are more of a threat to us because of the information that could be vital to us winning this war. You have enough skills to make this assuagement work in our favor, and you have plenty of support behind you in this." Jacobs went on with my mission and I listened intently to make sure I know all that was said to me and how my next few months were going to be played out in front of me eyes.

"You want me to be an assassin for Easy Company?" I restated for him, seeing me him watch me intently as I took out a deep breath and looked down at my feet.

"It's like I said, Kit, you are only to report to me. Captain Sobel has no authority over you." Jacobs reminded me.

"How am I going to report to you, sir?" I questioned.

"I will be in Europe, handling Wolf Company from one of our headquarters. All of the Wolf Company members are going to report to me throughout the war with their assignments and missions. You are to do the same, and I will seen more progress with the others along with more missions that are needed with your journey with Easy Company. All you are to those men is an extra pair of eyes with a rifle, Kit. You will protect them if needed, along with bringing them aid as you have been trained to do, and the rest is up to do and what you have to offer me." Jacobs informed me some more as he stood in front of me now with his hands crossed in front of him and watch me intently.

I drank it all in, knowing that I was going to be alongside these men and help them with all that I knew from my training, but then I had my own vendetta and my own mission besides the Easy Company men. I had to face the fact that I was going to be placed out of my comfort zone and into the face of war, not longer having to rely on the comfort of the others in Wolf Company, but on myself and how Iw as going to just rely on me and my own state of mind. It was going to be a tough road ahead, a real challenge, but I had to remind myself that I was safe here, no longer back there in Seattle and in fears of being broken again.

"When do I start?"

* * *

"You've got to be kidding me." I sighed as I threw the rifle strap over my shoulder and I looked behind me to see Beta, Artemis, Jade, Nova, Spade and Ace there in the room, watching me prep myself and get ready to meet all the men in Easy Company.

"It's like I said, he wants me to be with Easy for now on and start training them today in the art of rifle shooting," I explained to them calmly though they were still all confused about the situation. As I both signed and said this at the same time, Jade looked furious about the situation, Artemis was a bit taken back, Beta was silent but looking sorrowful, and Ace looked like she was really wanting to punch a hole in the wall at that very moment.

"This is bullshit." Ace grumbled under her breath, having me hear Beta snap her fingers at her.

_This isn't up to us, it's up to Sink_. Beta reminded her with her fingers and having me see the knitted eyebrow of concern on her face as she looked over at me then with a small smile on her face, though I knew she was doing that to make me feel better.

"I don't care if it's up to Sink, it's still bullshit that we're going to be separated." Ace said and signed back to Beta, whom hung her head then in agreement.

"You thought we were going to say together throughout this war?" Artemis asked in a low tone, tough it wasn't threatening but more of a statement than a question. We all looked to her then, having me feel the air in the room getting heavy then as both Ace and Artemis were looking at each other then as if they were talking with their eyes.

"Look, Jacobs told me that he was going to keep all of us informed about each other throughout the war, so it's not like we're going to be separated for good." I explained to the group of girls as I fished out my fingerless gloves from my drawer next to my cot, then rearranging my vest that I was wearing and seeing them all nod in agreement.

"She does have a point." Jade added in agreement with me, Beta nodded her head and signing _yes_.

"It still feels weird though." Ace tried to argue with us, though her voice was no longer mad or anger but a bit more on the sad side.

"I know it does, hell it makes me feel like shit to be fair. But don't worry about it, we can still make these days count together." Artemis reassured them as I heard a knock at the front of the cabin door. I grimaced, knowing it was going to be someone from Easy Company tho escort me over to the tent to start my rifle lesson with the rest of the Company. So I walked over, though the rest of the grill were looking at me do this like I was walking over to my death.

Opening the door, there was 2nd Lieutenant Lewis Nixon, the both of us were the same height and he looked more connected about the situation that I did, since I felt like I was about to sent to my death.

"Lieutenant Kit?" He asked me politely, his voice was soothing compared to the other officers that I would hear.

"Sir." I replied back to him.

"You ready to meet the boys?" He asked me, though I looked at him for a long second before I looked over my shoulder to see the girls there, watching me. They all were giving me reassuring smiles, though I could tell Ace was somewhat forcing it on her own face.

_You're gonna be fine_ Beta signed to me as I grinned at her and I could see Artemis giving me one nod. it was nice that I had a support system behind me with these women, and I just grinned at him as Ace gave me her signature smirk then.

"Give 'em hell." She replied to me, having me hear the others chuckle from her antic and I nodded. Turning away from them, I walked out oath cabin and into what was going to be both the scariest and the most thrilling part of this whole adventure.

I had to play the wolf after all.

* * *

"Colonel Sink has make the decision of recruiting and placing a new member in Easy Company, 1st Lieutenant Kit from Wolf Company," Nixon explained as I stood behind him when he was talking to the rest of Easy Company under the tent. They were all sitting in folded chairs, watching Nixon and me as he was giving me some kind of introduction to the men. As he spoke, I recognized some of the men that I met earlier: Malarky, Guarnene, Perconte, Martin, and Webster. It made the thought of standing in front of them less miserable since they were watching me now.

"She is a highly trained sniper and one of the best snipers that has ever came to Fort Benning. She is going to be another one of our snipers out on the line, which is our advantage. Although she will be working with us there on the battle lines, she reports to Captain Jacobs and him alone. However, I was told to give you this warning," Nixon explained as I then looked over at him to see what he was going to say to the men as such a warning.

"Lieutenant Kit will be treated with the upmost respect from every single one of you here in Easy Company. She is not to be treated as anything less than an officer in the army, and if either myself or Winters gets any word that she is being mistreated or misjudged by a single person here in this tent, that person will be court martialed and sent home without a second thought." Nixon said in more of a stern tone, having me be frozen in my spot in how he said it with such protection. He was giving them a straight up warning on how to treat me with them in the Company. So far, I was supposed to feel safe with the new rule to protect me from being harmed by any of the men. I should be satisfied with that, but for some reason, I wasn't. If there was one thing that I learned from being in Wolf Company, it was to show them instead of tell them.

I had to show them.

"The floor is yours, Lieutenant." Nixon said to me looking over at me from his spot in the middle at the front. I smiled at him, walking over to the middle now instead of being out on the side.

"Thank you, Lieutenant Nixon." I thanked him politely, though I was trying to keep the stern look on my face since this was more of an educational route then anything else.

"I'm here to give you the basics of how to shoot and rifle," I said to the men with them watching me, "I'll be honest with you. All that you were taught back in Camp Toccoa, was probably bullshit from a couple of guys who only shot their guns once or twice in their lives." When I said this, I could see some of them grinning from the sheer joke of it all, and others were looking at me in shock because of how I was carrying myself and talking about the training as more of a joking training.

"However, I've been shooting guns since I was fourteen years old and I've been trained to handle a rifle far better than those old men sitting behind a desk." I explained some more, seeing them watch me as I grabbed my rifle from behind me and held it out in front of me with one arm, not showing any sign of weakness with the weight of the rifle along my arm muscles. Some of their eyes went to the gun, seeing how worn it looked with my own character to it.

"Get ready to learn how to shoot, and not loose an eye out."

* * *

"So did you really grow up shooting guns?" Shifty asked me that night as we were sitting together at the mess hall.

"Pretty much. My dad would take my older brothers when they were fourteen, and as I was the only daughter, he was hesitant to take me. But I got my ways and he took me, teaching me how to hold and shoot a pistol." I explained to him as he took a bite from his food with one hand though his eyes were still on me the whole time.

"That sounds like my dad. He grew up hunting, and he took me out when I was little." Shifty informed me, "But It's still pretty cool that you learned from you dad."

"Well technically my Uncle got me into sniper shooting," I corrected him, hearing the other soldiers walk by and chat with each other in the loud mess hall, "I had to learn how to hunt on my own."

"And your family was fine with you being here in the army?" Shifty asked with a bit of hesitance there in his voice.

"Not at first. Hell, they didn't know since I was with my Uncle at the time and he was the one who talked me into it." I explained.

"No shit." Shifty breathed out in amazement.

"It's true though, but my dad warmed up to it. My mother, she's a bag of crazy and is still convinced I'm making the wrong choice." I went on some more about my family, though I was trying so herd to leave out some details that I knew would make me look more like a basket case than ever before. Shifty just smiled as I looked away from him for one second, about to drink from my tin can when someone walked by our table to the line up with the door. I knew that person, it made me almost freeze from seeing him walk across in front of me at the table, but he was looking over at me for a brief moment before walking away. I remembered his face and his eyes a bit.

Ronald Spiers.

"I've heard stories about him." Shifty said to me as he saw who I was looking at, having me loose my glance at him and look back at Shifty.

"What do you mean?" I questioned.

"There's talk about that guy, Spiers. He's one of the 1st Lieutenants for Dog Company, making Sobel almost look pale in comparison when it comes to scare tactics. He can make his own soldiers go on longer runs, the guy can scare the shit out of you from just one look." Shifty explained to me with some interest in his own voice as we both looked over at the man now, who grabbed his own food tray and was getting food while keeping the came intense look on his face, almost like he was wanting to punch someone out who was going to look at him wrong. It made me wonder about him, why he would look at people in that manner and if the stories that were told about him were, in fact, true. Who knew at that point, and I was still hesitant to talk to the guy about it.

"There they are, the two snipers for Easy getting all cozy together." Shifty and I looked over at who was talking, seeing a group of the Easy Company men walking over to us at the table and sitting at the table with us as if it was another day at the camp. After my educational meeting with them on how to shoot a gun, I would think they would want to avoid me like the plague. But then again, they were nice enough to want to get to know me instead of blowing me off.

"Luz, is there ever a moment when you shut up?" Toye asked in annoyance to the soldier who spoke up at first. he just grinned and shrugged his shoulders.

"I'm just saying that these two happen to not only be the deadliest people in our Company, but also the most attractive." He joked with us then, having me see Shifty roll his eyes though I smirked from seeing how bold he was being in front of me. He had courage, a real good amount of it.

"Way to try and make me blush there, Luz." Shifty joked with him and the others at out table are snickering.

"Well, technically speaking, she's not part of our Company ain't she?" A lanky soldier piped up with a hint of agitation in this voice. Some of them men groaned, others rolled their eyes as I eyed the private, hearing Johnny Martin mutter, "Christ." under his breath. I knew this was going to come against me, that one soldier who was not convinced that I was all that I was told to me.

"Can you be nice at least once, Liebgott?" Guanine grumbled to him with annoyance as the other men nodded in agreement.

"I'm asking a legit question, ain't I?" Liebgott asked him back with a bite to his tone.

"Don't worry, I am still in Wolf Company, so don't be to worried that I'll take all the thunder from you boys." I advised him carefully, seeing him eye me and analyze me once again with his brown eyes and the look of disbelief on his face.

"So, you a killer like they say you are?" He asked me, a smirk on his face like he was wanting to testing me and see what I was going to say or do with him. This is why I hated men, in a certain sense, because they automatically didn't think that I had enough strength to back my shit up with all that I told them.

"Are you a kill joy, not to mention a dick?" I countered back to him, seeing him eye me as the others around him shifted a but from how I shot back with him with my fork in hand, no longer eating my food and just watching him to see how he was still going to try and carry himself.

"I apologize for Joe Liegbott here, he doesn't know when to shut his trap once in awhile." Johnny said to me, looking at me with sincerity but then glaring at Joe who was two men down from him.

"He's not the first soldier who has doubted what I could do," I erased Johnny now, looking away from Joe now as the others were looking at me with interested, "The only way I could shut the men up around here is with my rifle, along with the other women in my Company who are also trained killers like me."

"You guys have a mean reputation." Malarky added in agreement from his spot next to Shifty.

"We had to earn it, but it was worth all the broken knuckles and sweat and tears for the sense of pride with our sigma." I informed him some more, seeing the men grin in how I worded it like it was some kind of prideful speech about my Company and how we carried ourselves.

"But is it true? That you guys are all good at something?" Luz asked with interest, the grin still plastered on his face.

"We were all recruited because of our talents, yes. I had my rifle, Beta has her hands that could break a neck within a blink of an eye, Viper has her knives and daggers, Artemis is mean with her bow and arrow, Nova can drive anything that is placed in front of her, Jade can fly a plane like any expert can, and Ace has her explosives." I informed them all, seeing them all grin from ear to ear to hear about the women in Wolf Company.

"That's badass." Toye breathed out with a look of shock on his face.

"We like to think so." I joked with him, feeling a bit better about the whole dinner talk with theses men compared to the one nasty incident with Joe Liebgott whom still looked a bit bitter about it all. I had to remind myself that these men did not see me as another target for them to play and kill. They saw me as a soldier, as someone who was equal to them with how they were talking to me and showing me the kindness that I was yearning for from the opposite sex for years. I had to breathe out and learn to trust them.

I had to learn to trust him.


	6. Chapter 6

I stood by Joseph Toye as he aimed his rifle and shot at it once, seeing that it was curved to the left and he cursed to himself. The men were in a long line now, trying to shoot with their rifles and having me coach them in how they were both holding the rifles and how they were shooting them. I was slowly getting to know each of the men there in Easy, since half of the time I was instructing them and the other half of the time I was talking to them about where they came from and why they came to the war. They were all very kind to me, and I could see how they treated and acted to each other was that of real camaraderie amongst those in one Company. Some of them were still rough around the edges, and yet others were kind and sweet to me. These men wanted to get to know me more and less of a rifle sniper, and more as another soldier who has a story. The one that was still on the fence with me was Joe Liebgott, whom still looked at me with hesitance and an arms length away from me, though I was still wondering why was treated me in such a harsh manner. The others in the group reassured me that Joe had a bit of a hard shell over him though they still didn't know why.

It's been a good couple of days with Easy, and when they weren't with me training with shooting rifles, they were practicing for their big jump that was that very day in the afternoon in which they were going to earn their wings. Although most of them were clearly interested in rifle training, they were beyond tired from the constant training from their own Captain Sobel, who was more of a tyrant on them than a regular Captain. I felt bad since I was not under his rule, but the ruling of Jacobs, so I was missing his line of fire with me that he would inflict on the men.

"Shift your weight onto your dominant leg, and you have to use both eyes to get it right. Try again," I urged Joe as he looked over at me for instruction. I smiled at him, not really wanting to be a harass at this point think he was getting Frustrated himself, because having one hardass in your deal the whole day was already and enough, let alone two.

He did what I told him to: shifting the weight on his leg and having both eyes open and it got even close to the target. I could see he was still unsure of himself and I grinned at him, patting him on the back and seeing him watch me.

"You see? You're doing good, Toye. Just keep practicing." I reassured him though he rolled his eyes.

"You make it sound so easy." He grumbled in frustration towards himself.

"That's because it _is,_ for me at least. I had years of practice, and you have merely days. You are doing great with the progress that I am seeing." I explained to him softly, seeing that he was feeling a tad bit better about the whole thing because of how I was speaking to him. Instead of yelling at him, I was giving him proper criticism but with gentleness and peace about it.

"Thanks, Kit." He thanked me, having me grin and move onto the next person in the line: Talbert. He was going good himself, and I watched as he shot a few more times.

"Good work, Talbert. Keep that elbow down and you're in great shape." I praised him, seeing him smirk as I walked past him.

"Thank you, ma'am." He replied as I moved onto Shifty, who had no trouble. Of Course.

"Well done, Private Powers." I praised him, seeing him smile from ear to ear the infamous gentle smile that he had and would show constantly.

"You think I could have more of a challenge now?" Shifty asked me, having me look at him with a bit of a surprise on my face from hearing how he still wanted to improve on what he was doing.

"You want me to challenge you?" I asked him, seeing him shrug his shoulders.

"Why not, it would make this more interesting." He replied back to me. I chuckled next to him as he released another round at his target.

"Quit being the teacher's pet!" Luz said in a joking snort as he was shooting his own rifle next to Shifty.

"Quit yapping and trying to hit the target for once, Luz. If you can hit the target, I have total faith that you can hit on a woman and not be slapped." I joked back with him, hearing the other laugh around us as they are still shooting. Luz just grinned at my antics with him though my eyes were back on Shifty.

"I'll think of something for you, you get me?" I asked him, seeing him nod his head as he kept shooting when I was moving away from him. I was about to go over to the other next person when someone was stalking over to our area, having me look with my arms crossed in front of me and a confused look on his face. It was Sobel, Great.

"Easy Company! Attention!" He called out, immediately the rest of the men in the line stopped firing, throwing their straps over their shoulders and standing at attention for him as he approached them. There was a look of determination in his eyes as he was looking at each of them. But it was when he looked at me, my arms still crossed and eyeing him like he was kindly interrupting an important practice, that threw him off. I didn't start at attention, nor was I going to since my loyalties were still with Captain Jacobs and not him. He had no power over me, not at the moment. He looked a bit taken back at how I was staring him down, but he collected himself as he was staring back at the rest of the men who were waiting for whatever he was saying.

"You are all to report to your barracks and prep for the jump, it's been moved to today. You have 10 minutes to be prepped in jumping attire and ready outside your barracks." He ordered all the men, having me look to see the men all looking a bit grimaced at the orders and some of the color leaving their faces. I felt bad, and now seeing the torment and the torture of Captain Sobel since he sounded like a man who was not going to have any mercy left on the ground in front of him. As soon as he walked away from the men, and when he was good amount of feet away from the men, I could hear all of them groaning and sounding like they were going to be sent to hell. Some of them rolled their eyes, and others were looking more pissed than ever.

"What a freaking bastard." Bull muttered as he passed me to go to his barracks.

"Now I know why you guys hate him." I commented to Malarky under my breath as he was walking over to me with Muck in two along with Liebgott.

"You already got your wings?" Malarky asked me, having me nod my head.

"I got them at least two months after I came here. All of Wolf Company did." I explained to him.

"What to be a over achiever." Joe snorted under his breath as he stalked away, having me watch him and his lanky form stalk over to his own barracks with heavy feet.

"Hey, quit being a dick will ya?" Malarky asked him aloud, in which Joe flipped him off and kept walking, "I don't get him sometimes. I swear, he's nice."

"Not to me he isn't." I reminded him, seeing Malarky eye me with a hint of pain behind those eyes.

"Don't worry about it. And hey, you guys are going to be fine with your jumps today." I explained to him in a lighter tone, not worrying that one person in Easy Company hated me. I could let that roll off my shoulders, it was nice to have one person hate me then the entire Company hate me.

"How was your jump?" Muck asked me, also looking a bit worried about jumping.

"It was nothing, just hopping out of a plane and remembering what to do with you legs." I reminded him, seeing both Malarky and Muck watch me though the rest of the men were walking reluctantly to their barracks, "Just remember your training. I think you guys will be fine, trust me." They both have a small smile and I saw Luz walking over with Toye next to him along with Guanine.

"We'll let you know on how it goes." Luz explained to me sincerely and without any more jokes within his tone.

"Thanks, Luz." I thanked him, seeing him grin and give me one wink before the rest of the boys walked off, leaving me there in the open field alone and seeing them walking with reluctance and with fear in their steps. I remembered my first jump out of the plan, I was beyond petrified.

But I wasn't going to say that to them, they needed to hear something hopeful, not dreadful.

* * *

"What's this?" I asked as Jade handed a small pouch in my hands in front of the mess hall sine we were about to go to dinner that night. Easy Company was still going on their jump later that day, and I was waiting to hear from them in how they were doing with their jump and if they all passed. But now I was having some time with Wolf Company, I have missed them too damn much since most of my time was occupied with Easy Company and training them.

"Present from Wolf Company." Jade explained to me as I was opening the pouch in front of her, "I made them for all the girls, because I know we are going to be separated whether we like it or not one of these days." I reached inside with my fingers, since the pouch was small enough to fit into my one hand. There were two earrings inside, having me place them in the palm of my hand and look closely to see that they were unwell earrings.

They were bullet earrings, but with a gem on the top.

"Holy shit." I said out loud as I grinned from seeing the small trinket and looking up at Jade. She grinned from my reaction, pushing her hair to the side and having me see the bullet earrings she was wearing too but the gem on the top of hers were a dark green because of her alias name Jade.

"I figured we all needed something that was both tough and pretty to look at. It's a reminder of who we are as Wolf Company: pretty to look at but tough to defeat." Jade explained in a light manner as I got my own earrings on without my difficulty. I noticed, as I was putting on the earrings, that the gems on the top of the bullets were a faint tint of red and organ morphed together. I knew why she made those for me, it was because of my own name:

Kit. A young fox.

"Thanks, Jade." I thanked her, seeing her shrug her shoulders.

"Eh, I think we all needed a pick me up after we were told we were going to be ripped apart from one another. Besides, if anyone tries to tell us any different with wearing theses bad boys," Jade stated, pointing to the bullets on her ears, "then we can plug these into our guns and give them hell."

"I like the sound of that." I said back to her as we walked into the mess hall together and walked over to the first table that was near us. We both sat down, avoiding to grab food at that point in the night since I wasn't hungry and I didn't think Jade was either.

"Did Jacobs tell you where you were assigned?" I asked him as we saw side by side.

"Not yet, but he did tip me off that I was going to be some flying around from place to place, mostly for the British," Jade informed me more in her Sergeant tone, "But I do know Artemis is going to stay with him and be his personal errand runner, Beta is going in with Dog Company and is running assassination runs like you, and Nova is going to help out the jeep driving for the medics."

"Beta's with Dog Company?" I asked, clearly remembering Ronald Speris once again and how he was in charge of Dog Company.

"Yeah, why you ask?" She questioned.

"I met one of the soldiers other day: Ronald Spiers." I said back to her, "He saw my shooting the other night when I had a nightmare."

"He's been floating around here, all the shit on him." Jade explained to me from her spot, "He's a good Liuetenant, but then again he's also a shifty one from what the other soldiers are saying."

"I would be too. Shit, people don't know when to keep their mouths shut when it comes to gossip about the officers around here." I joked with her, but we both looked in front of us to see none other than Lieutenant Ronald Spiers in front of us, food tray in hand and looking at the both of us not with intensity, but with interest. It was like he heard all that was mentioned in our conversation, oh shit. He did hear all of it?

"I kind of hear the same things myself." He said in a joking tone, though Jade and I were frozen in our spots just because of the pure shock that he was there right in front of us, looking at us like we were long lost friends and not soldiers who were under his ranking.

"Hello Lieutenant Spiers." Jade said in a hesitant tone, Spiers smiling at her briefly before looking right back at me, almost making me feel intimidated from how he was staring, like he was reading me from the inside out.

"Good to see you again, Lieutenant Kit." He said to me, his voice was deep but sounding so clear and almost calming compared to the other ones here in Fort Benning.

"You as well, sir." I replied back to him in a light manner, no long scared to see him. He gestured to the bench in front of him at our table.

"May I sit with you?" He asked politely, having Jade and myself look at each other and then I looked back at him.

"Don't you want to sit with the other Lieutenants's at their table?" I asked, not understanding why he was choosing to sit with us, of all people.

"I would, but then again I would love to hear all of the stories that are told about me from you." Spiers replied back to the both of us, having me smirk at him and nod my head. He joined our table, sitting and folding his hands in front of him and keeping his eyes on me the whole time. If this was any other soldier here, I would be petrified in how he was looking at me. But no, this was just Ronald Spiers, the mysterious soldier from Dog Company who had more stories about him than just hearing it from his now mouth.

"The stories aren't really that great." I reassured him, since wanting to talk about those stories to the man himself was going to both be awkward and scary at the same time. However, with the small smile on his face was enough to not make me feel so afraid.

"I'm sure they're not. I've heard several stories myself when I would pass by a platoon." He explained to me in a nicer tone than I thought I would use.

"Really, sir?" Jade asked in shock.

"Yes, though some of them are pretty far fetched." Spiers replied to her.

"Which ones?" She questioned.

"I'd rather not voice to you young ladies." He replied back to her calmly, though I grinned at him.

"I'd never thought I would meet a Lieutenant like you. Meets women in the dead of night and chivarlous with dinner conversation? Are you sure you're a lieutenant?" I asked him in almost a joking manner. Spiers eyed me then, having me think that he was not going to like how I was joking about him in that moment, but him that moment he was just content, at least that's how it looked from where I was in my spot across from him .

"I think I can pass for a Captain if I should say so myself, at least my soldiers under my command think I'm a good enough Lieutenant here." Spiers replied to me, and I could tell be was trying not to be cocky about it.

"You have a new member in your Company, one of ours named Beta." I said back to him, shifting a bit in my spot on the bench.

"I met her today, yes. She's a great soldier, real good at combat skills. Hell, she threw down 5 of my men in a demonstration that she had today." Spier explained to me aloud in a grin now there, having me sigh in relief to hear that Beta was going okay without us in Wolf Company, "Although we are going to learn Sign Language in order to communicate with her."

"Well she does read lips, much better than you think." I informed him as he watched me, giving me the eyes that showed that he really was listening to all that I was telling him, "She's a great soldier."

"I'm glad you hear that from another Wolf Company member." Spiers thanked, having me feel a small smile tug on my lips. The more I talked to him, and even just looked at him, the more I was getting the reassurance of men in high power. Not that I was afraid of them, that wasn't it. It was because of the still haunting fear of men, because of what Gerald did to me, that made me wonder if I was going to let my guard down ever again. But with Spiers, just talking to him only twice and seeing the genuine kindness in his eyes, it was all that I needed to see that he wanted to show through friendship to me.

"Kit!" I looked up from Spiers, seeing all three of us at the table look over past Spiers at a group of men walking over to us with big grins on their faces. It was Easy, well, some of them. I grinned widely at them, hopping up from my spot on the bench and around the table to meet them. Luz, Muck, Penkala, and Toye were standing there with smiles that made me think that something amazing happened.

"How was the jump?" I asked them all with my hands on my hips.

"You're looking at the new paratroopers for Easy Company!" Toye said in a hint of pride. I grinned at them all and gave them all hugs, feeling time hug me back after going to each of them. I was beyond glad that they got their jump wings, it was a huge honor and a weight off their shudders at that point. Just from seeing their faces, I could tell they were glad it was all over.

"They're throwing a party of us over on the other side of Benning, a bunch of us want ya there." Penkala explained to me, having me look a bit shocked.

"Why do you want me? This is your party, I already have my own wings." I reminded him.

"Naw, you're an Easy member now, aren't ya?" Muck asked me with his grin plastered on his face and I took a moment to drink that in. Technically he was right, I was an Easy member now and this was a party for Easy. But then again, I didn't jump with them and get my wings with them, so it felt off. But from the look on their faces, they didn't care about that, they saw me as one of their own. So I looked over my shoulder at Jade, whom was watching the whole conversation with a small smile on her face and Spiers as well with his won grin, though none of the boys were paying attention to the both of them, just me.

"I'll come, but only if I bring some friends along." I told the Easy boys, and they were looking at me now with a small hint of confusion.

"Which friends?"

* * *

That night, I was standing next to Luz and Shifty and seeing Wolf and Easy Company mingling together. I brought my Company along, since it was fair that they would have to get to know each other. It worked out great, because I saw Easy boys talking to the Wold girls and they were having good conversations with one another. It felt like a swelling sigh of relief on my chest as I drank my beer and heard the chattering of a regular party going on around me. In that moment, it didn't feel like we were soldiers, we felt like regular young adults at a party and getting to know each other.

Viper was talking to Bull, Jade was with Malarky and Penkala and Muck, Nova was with Johnny Martin and Frank Perconte, Ace was talking with Grant, Beta was with Artemis and Webster and was trying to teach him the alphabet with signing. I grinned from seeing all of my fellow company members together with Easy, getting along with smiles on their faces and stories on their lips. Soon we were going to be separated, and I knew that was going to break my heart. But I had to think of the future and what was going to happen to me without the girls, and it gave me hope that I was going to be with a Company that was willing to take me in as one of their own. So I drank my beer with a smile on my lips and I was willing to look to the future.

And what it was holding.


	7. Chapter 7

**September, 1943**

I sat in my seat on the train, looking down at the deck of cards in my hand and my hands staying still while feeling the paper material against my fingers. Another 1st Lieutenant, Harry Welsh who too was transferred into Easy, was asleep across from me with his head against the head rest. He was kind enough for us to chat for a bit until he mentioned he needed some sleep. I liked it already, a small piece of innocent was about him, a kind innocence.

We were on our way to New York to be shipped out to God Knows where. I had no idea, nor did the rest of us, but we were certain that it was going to be a tough road ahead. It was painful to say goodbye to the rest of the girls, all whom I gave hugs. Some of them were on their way as well with their new Companies, and the rest stayed behind with Captain Jacobs. In fact, the deck of cards was a gift from him before I was summoned to go with the men onto the train.

They were spy cards.

"Lieutenant Kit." snapped out of my thoughts about my Captain and looked up, seeing Dick Winters in front of me with a small smile on his face and his case in hand, "May I join you?"

"Of course, sir," I replied with my own smile, seeing him sit across from me and having me place the deck of cards on my lap. I never really got to know him a whole lot, compared to the other boys in Easy Nixon and Winters were the ones that I hardly knew and never got to talk to on a regular basis. Though from what I heard from the men, Winters was none the less kind and a great leader for the men to look up to. He has helped them through the tough trials of Captain Sobel, which was a good amount of faith for the man to have.

"I was hoping to catch up with you since clearly all of the Easy Company men are saying great things about you and I have yet to get to know you." Winters explained, having me smile and wave him off.

"It's nothing, sir. Easy Company has plenty of good hearted men." I replied.

"That it does, and from what the men tell me, you're a great fighter yourself." Winters said though it sounded more like a clarification than a statement.

"I have yet to fight anyone beyond practicing, sir. I am looking forward to being able to work alongside Easy." I reassured him with a genuine smile. He grinned back at me, leaning back in his seat and then pointing to the deck of cards in my hand.

"What's with the cards, Lieutenant?" He asked me, his eyebrow raised from the curiosity as I looked at my lap to see the deck there. I grabbed the deck in one hand, holding it up for him see and pointing at it with my other free hand.

"It's a gift from my Captain from Wolf Company. Apparently it's a survival tool, not to mention a great way to pass the time. Behind this layer, sandwiched in the middle of the two pieces of one card, is a map." I explained to him, seeing him look at me with a bit of shock and amazement.

"The United States Playing Card Company thought of the idea, and Jacobs had every single Wolf Company member grab one personally before we were sent off. Each card has a certain map of Europe, in case we were to be lost or captured by the Germans." I informed him, handing him the deck for him to inspect. He even took some of the cards out, which were still pristine and white from not being played with just yet. I could tell he was trying to find the one point where he could open the Ace of Spades in his hand to find the map.

"You can only access the map with water." I said to Winters, seeing him look up at me and I just stood there, legs cross and sitting like a proper lady with a Lieutenant title on my uniform.

"Impressive." He merely replied back to me, handing me the deck of cards gently and I placed them in my jacket pocket like it was another pack of cigarettes.

"It's my job to have gadgets on me, even some as simple as playing cards, sir." I said with a shrug of my own shoulders.

"Well, since you are going to be working with my platoon and my men, as now an official member of Easy Company, I was hoping you would tell me a little bit more about yourself." Winters said to me with the kindness evident in his voice.

"Okay.." I trailed off, not knowing where to start and it made me hesitant in my spot. Winters saw me being a bit taken back with his statement about him wanting to get to know me, so he just chuckled in front of me.

"Only the basics, Kit. Nothing more and even complicated." He reminded me with his smile that made me, for some reason, think of my own father. It was a reassuring smile, a smile that promised safety and promised security of what was was going to be spoken between us.

"I know that, sir. It's just that no one has ever really asked about my life." I confessed to him simply, seeing the small look of shock on his face from the confessed that I gave to him. The only other ones in the army that knew of my past were the girls in Wolf Company, yet I still held back more information than I should since I trust those women with my whole life. So, where was I going to start with Winters?

"I am the youngest of four, my siblings are all brothers," I started simply, seeing a small smirk on his lips.

"Must have been an interesting upbringing with all brothers." He joked, having me grin and nod in agreement.

"That it was. They are great men though, one of them is married to a wonderful girl and the other two are still looking, much to my mother's dismay." I went on with my family's history.

"You did mention at one time that your father taught you how to shoot? Did you want to yourself?" Winters asked in curiosity in his tone.

"I did. Being the old girl in my family made me jealous that my brothers and my father would go out hunting on Sundays after church. So I pleaded with him, finally being able to go out with him when I was fourteen." I said with a small smile, thinking of my father again and seeing his face in my head. I wondered then how he was doing back at home in Washington, if he was going okay with putting up with my tyrant mother and her schemes to get me to go back home.

"And you mother was fine with your shooting?" Winters asked from across from me.

"God no, she hated it. She wanted a daughter, not another son." I said in a small chuckle, though it pained me to say it out loud because it was still somewhat true to think and say at the same time. I knew she wouldn't have said it to my face, but it was still a fact that she never wanted another son. And for me to go out hunting and to act like another son, that killed her.

"Does she know what you're doing here in the army?" Winters asked, not a bit sheepish on the subject and I stared at him directly in the eye.

"No, sir." I replied smoothly.

"Why not, Lieutenant?" He asked on, pressing into the subject matter gently but with determination. I took in a deep breath, squeezing my fingers together and thinking of the right way to voice what I wanted to say and not make it sound so cruel.

"I guess it's because I have wanted to make this decision on my own, without my mother trying to control one more aspect of my life." I explained calmly, seeing him scan my eyes with from his seat. He said nothing from his mouth, but his eyes were saying everything to me. He was telling me all kind of things, and I didn't know how to word it in that moment until someone snuck up behind him. I looked up, seeing it was 2nd Lieutenant Nixon and he leaned over to Winters.

"Going my way?" he asked in wonder and with a hint of calmness in his tone. He was holding a flask in his hand and looked like he was having a charming ride on the train.

"Where the train takes me." Winters replied as Nixon grinned, looking over at me.

"Hello Lieutenant. I hope I'm not interrupting." He said as he walked over to sit next to me, across from Winters.

"Not at all." I replied before Winters could say anything. Winters looked at me to make sure that this was fine, though he said nothing. I nodded once, the both of us knowing that this conversation was not over.

"Take a guess where we're going." Nixon said to Winters aloud, though it sounded like it was aimed at me as well, "Atlantic…Pacific….Atlantic?"

"I'm not the intelligence officer." Winters advised Nixon as he went to grab his bag and get the newspaper out of his bag though Nixon holding his flask with the alcohol and drank down a bit.

"As such, I know, but if I told you, I'd have to kill you." Nixon replied back to him, having me see a smirk on Winter's face as he was still reading a article in the newspaper.

"So don't tell me." Winters said back to him.

"Europe," Both Winters and I looked over at Nixon now as he grinned from ear to ear, raising his glass with a triumphant look on his face, "We're invading Europe my friends. Fortress Europa."

"Sine when do I drink?" Winters asked as Nixon was offering him a drink from his flask.

"If I thought you'd drink, I wouldn't offer it to you." Nixon countered back to him.

"Nix, what are you gonna do when you get into combat?" Winters asked, having me watch him too and wanting to hear the conversation and where it as going.

"Oh, I have every confidence in my scrounging abilities. And I have a case of Vat 69 hidden in your footlocker." Nixon explained to him with a shrug of his own shoulders. Winters grinned and I tried not to chuckle from how Nixon was carrying himself in the conservation.

"Really?" Winters questioned him.

"Oh, yeah." Nixon sneered back at him, having me still chuckle and then see Harry rouse himself from his nap next to Winters. His eyes went over to the flask in Nixon's hand and his eyes went wide in appreciation. I watched as Nixon handed the flask to him and a grin was on his face, though my mind was back on the recent news that we were going to be sent over to Europe after all. This was huge, huge for me at least, because that meant we were going to be in the middle of the major part of the war. I was training for a year to learn how to be an assassin and a great soldier, and now it was about to be placed to the test within weeks now.

Was I ready?

* * *

**Aldbourne, England**

**Late 1943**

"We believe that some of the major german officers will be placed here…and long here in this area of Normandy." I was in one of the intelligence camps in our new home of Aldbourne England and I was gong over some of the maps of Normandy with other 1st Lieutenants and Captains who were in charge of platoon placements. I was on assignment from then on out to get my hands on any information about any German Officers that we would cross, and where they would end up.

"How many men are they going to be under their commanding are we thinking?" I asked as I looked over at the Captain Henricks with the map between us.

"Enough for us to get by them in one clean attack. Although they could have tiger tanks and other mass artillery rounds in their favor, we can take them in the element of surprise." He explained back to me as I nodded and looked back at the map.

"Now I'm going to be with Easy Company throughout the remainder of the war, will you keep me informed on the drop zones for Easy when they are assigned?" I asked him politely.

"Yes ma'am, Lieutenant Kit." He replied, having me smile and salute him, receiving one back as I moved away from him and out of the tent. It was a cool morning in England now, and after being on a ship with a hell of a lot of men, I was glad to be back on solid ground again and getting ready to go into war.

"Kit! You got a second?" Winters was walking over to me in his training combat gear, though I was in my own uniform that consisted of a olive jacket and tunic that was hitting to me, khaki skirt with brown shoes and tights, and my hair in a low bun near my neck.

"Yes sir." I replied back to him in a smile.

"Listen we're going on another routine mock mission along the farmlands, and I was wondering if you would like to join us." Winters explained to me as we were standing face to face now in the open area surrounded by tents and soldiers walking around us. I was a bit shocked, looking at him in surprise.

"You want me to join you and your men?" I asked.

"You might as well, since you are assigned to fight with us." Winters reminded me.

"What about Captain Sobel? I don't think he would like it if I joined you." I warned him, since the last thing that I wanted to do was not only get in trouble with Captain Sobel, but to get the rest of the men in trouble, inclusion Winters.

"If he has a problem with another Easy Company member joining in a practice run, then he can answer to me. You are technically in this Company now and you have every right to be a part of the mock run." Winters explained in a calmer voice with a small smile on his lips. There was no way that I was going to talk myself out of this one, and it was fine by me. I nodded my head then, thinking of how bad it was going to be since I was working with Winters, who was slowly growing on me like an older brother figure. So I agreed to tag along.

So I agreed to tag along.

The mission was to get to a certain meeting point before the other platoon got there, catching them in a crossfire and claiming victory. Sobel had the 1st platoon and Winters was leading the 2nd, though he wanted me next to him as second in command because of my ranking. I was glad to be abel to help out, since I was placing my practice of learning coordinates and placements on maps into actual work. We were doing just fine really, because Winters knew what he was doing and he barely needed my own help with the coordinates. As we went along the farmlands with the mock run, I was staying low with my own rifle against my chest and following Winters close as the men behind us were still in their ranks and keeping to their own training.

We were going down one road when we entered a English civilian, an elderly man on his bicycle who was somewhat caught in the middle of us surrounding the intersection where were were supposed to end of mock run that day. The other men were running past us as the Englishman looked at both Winters and myself, whom were standing side by side with our rifles not loaded but we did look fierce none the less. The man held up his hands with a small smirk on his face.

"You've done it now, Yanks. You've captured me." He said in us in almost a cocky tone and Winters and I grinned next to each other. The man looked over at me now, his eyes going a bit wide from seeing the sight of a young woman in combat hear and a huge helmet on to hide my hair then.

"A woman? Now I know times have changed." He said in a sincere manner.

"That it has, sir." I replied in a smile, though it was but short when we heard the 1st platoon, lead by a Sobel as they were jogging along the road together in a tight unit, coming our way.

"High-ho silver!" Sobel said aloud as almost a victory, tough our men were hiding along the road in the tall grass. Winters walked away from the Englishman now, back over to the men and I followed him.

"Good work, 2nd Platoon. We took the objective." Winters said to our men as Sobel realized that he lost the run, the look of defeat on his face as I stood closely by him when he addressed the men. I could see him now looking right at me, the fear was back on my face for the first time in awhile. I remember seeing that face on a man before, the face of both anger and confusion at the same time, it was a death glare. It reminded me of Gerald, and I wanted to panic.

"Dick," I said in a low tone, not wanting to move another step as Sobel was drilling his eyes into me. Dick looked at me first, and then he saw Sobel staring me down as if he was going to rip me to pieces for being a part of his mock run when he had no intention of letting me near them. Dick walked back over to him, standing in front of me to block Sobel's death glare at me.

"I'll handle him, you get the men prepped for the walk back." Dick reassured me as I looked up at Dick. He had his stern look on his face, like he was ready to go into battle with Sobel as I reluctantly left him to go over to the men now. I knew Winters could handle himself against him, and he was willing to take the heat off of me.

"Come on boys, let's round up." I called to the 2nd platoon as I saw Sobel tell his 1st platoon to wait on the road while he stalked over to Winters with the look of hate in his eyes. 2nd platoon walked over to me, getting in their ranks as I watched with my eyes the argument going on between the two men now. I hated this, knowing it had something to do with me.

"Don't worry about him, Kit." I heard behind me from one of the company members, since I bet they saw me looking at the two of them in hesitance and in fear, "Sobel doesn't know how to handle a gun like you can." I tried to pick up my moral again, but it wasn't working, since I was once again feeling like a target without even having a say in the matter.

Fantastic.

* * *

I folded the letter that was in front of me up and placing it on the desk in front of me. I was in one of the offices that were in the town that we took for headquarters. Some time later, after trying to avoid Sobel like the plague, I got a letter from Beat and her telling me about how she was doing with Dog Company. She was having a decent enough time with them, they liked her just the same and she was doing just fine. I missed her so, seeing her neat handwriting and reading how she was teaching the men Sign Language slowly and surely while they were both on the ship at their new destination in England. And when she mention Spiers in her letters, I grinned from hearing how he was taking good care of her since she too was a 1st Lieutenant in his Company. Seeing his name on the letter in her handwriting, for some odd reason, made me miss him and seeing his face. It was odd for me to feel such think for a man, since the last time I felt something like that it ended badly. So why was this happening to me again?

The doors opened and I could hear books coming into the small room that I was at that was also attached to the main doors into Colonel's Sinks room. It was a private walking in with a clipboard in hand, having me see it was one of the Easy men. But he was no a combat soldier, he was a combat medic. No wonder I didn't know him so well, since I was mostly around the soldiers and not the medics.

"1st Lieutenant Kit?" He asked sheepishly, his tone was thick with a accent that I knew was from Louisiana. He had thin black hair, beyond pale skin with a almost bony face and dark blue eyes and think lips .

"How can I help you?" I asked him politely as he walked over to me with the clipboard in hand, standing in front of the desk with his medic bad clearly white on his arm.

"I'm one of the combat medics for Easy. I need to go over your medical file." He explained to me with hesitance in his voice, not as bold as the others in Easy. He was more timid, which was no real big deal to me.

"Of course, you can sit if you want." I said to him, gesturing to the chair he was next to that was right in front of me. He sat down slowly, though looking like he was about to be sick as he opened my file in front of me on the desk.

"I just need to go over your medical clearance, since they want us to hand out air sickness medicine pills for the jump." He explained as he got my field ready and I nodded.

"Sure." I agreed.

"You're not allergic to anything…are you?" He asked.

"Other than bees, not really." I said back to him in a grin, seeing a small smile spread on his pale face as he wrote things down.

"Nothing else that I should know about?" He asked, looking up at me from his spot in the chair. I could tell he took his job seriously, though he once again looked more shy compared to the rest of the men. For medical reason, he should know what happened to me, because something could happen to be out there on the field and they would have to examine me. If they found anything from the rape...then I would be in big trouble. The thing was, I wasn't ready to share it just yet.

"I think I'm okay, though I don't know your name." I said to him, holding out my hand for him to shake. He shook it gently, our hands shaking in the middle of the desk.

"Eugene Roe, pleasure ma'am." He said to me, having me nod my head at him and keep my own smile on. I already like him, he had politeness written all over his face and in how he shook my hand.

"Pleasure. You from Louisiana?" I asked him in crusty.

"Yessum, born and raised." He explained.

"I went there once or twice with my family, it's a nice place to live from what I could see." I commented to him.

"I like it." He answered back.

"I heard from some of the men that you're a good Combat Medic, and you're doing a good job thus far." I commented back to him, though I could tell he wanting to wave it off as he gave a nervous chuckle.

"I was assigned to be a Medic, it was never my choice." He explained, having me look at him with a knitted brow now.

"But do you enjoy it?" I asked, seeing him think about it for a moment before the smile was back on his face. He seemed like the kind of soldier that would think a lot to himself, as if he was not a real talker but kept it all in his head. I have heard about him from the other men, saying he was a good man and was beyond dedicated on keeping and maintaining his position as the combat medic for Easy. I wished I could have seen it myself, but then again hearing it from the other men was enough for me to get by.

"I do, ma'am." He simply replied, before we both heard the doors opening and two men stalking in to go into the other room without noticing us. Both Eugene and I were frozen, because it was Sobel leading the way with the Captain look on his face and the stern atmosphere he was giving, and a reluctant but just as determined Winters right behind him. They did'n't even see us as they walked through the room we were in within seconds, leaving both Eugene and I in the dust as the doors were closed behind the both of them. There was silence again in the room, but there was a hanging threat that something was really wrong with what was going on between the both of them. I looked over at Eugene, whom looked at me with big eyes.

"What in the hell was that?" I asked him in a hesitant tone, since it was clearly a shocker to see them move quickly through the room without seeing us or talking to us. This must have been bad, real bad.

"No idea, ma'am." He replied, and I gulped.

This was the start of a downhill spiral.


	8. Chapter 8

I stood with some of the Easy Company members outside the building where Eugene and I were at, after seeing both Captain Sobel and Winters go into a secluded room without a single word to the both of us. I knew it was real bad, beyond bad since neither one of them looked pleased to be close to one another. What did this mean? How as this going to play out? Eugene and I were convinced that Winters was going to be in trouble.

"You sure that's what happened?" Grant asked both myself and Eugene as we were standing in a huddle circle together.

"Positive, they walked into the room without a single word to each other," Eugene answered him back, still looking a bit uneasy about the situation himself.

"Son of a bitch." Guarnere grumbled under his breath and shuffled to his spot in front of me. At least point, I knew it had something to do with me, and the guilt was seeping over me and making me feel like I wanted to be sick.

"It had something to do with me. Joining you guys on the mock run was not a great idea." I mumbled to them in a lower tone though I was not at the point of wanting to cry. Not yet, to be honest.

"No way, Kit. Winters was fine with you joining, and you are a part of this Company now, so that can't be it." Shifty reassured me, placing a reassuring hand on my arm to calm me down from seeing that I was uneasy.

"Then what would it be?" I asked him, clearly not getting all that was happening.

"I have no clue, but right now we should just forget about it. If I know Winters, he ain't gonna leave us." Toye reminded the group of as another private came walking over to the group of us. We all looked, seeing the fresh-faced private there in front of us as he had a few letters in his hand.

"1st Lieutenant Kit?" He asked, having me nod as he saluted me. I returned the gesture with him, seeing him then hand me the letters in my hand.

"Just came in this morning, along with a telegraph from Captain Jacobs." He explained to me, then walking away after saluting me once more. I saluted back and moved some of the letters around to find the letter from Jacobs.

"Where is it from?" Grant asked me in wonder as I looked at the stamped part of the envelope.

"London, Captain Jacobs is in London." I replied with a sigh of relief as I opened it with my fingers.

"I'm outta here," Guarene said to the group of us, having us all look as he turned on his heel and started to walk off.

"Where are you going?" Grant asked. But Guarnene said nothing though he walked like he was on a mission somewhere. So Grant sighed, walking behind him.

"Gotta make sure he's not going to do anything stupid." He said over his shoulder to us as Toye then joined him. I felt bad for the three of them since they all looked like they were beyond mad about what was going on with Winters.

"What does it say?" Shifty asked me, gesturing to the telegraph that was now in front of me. I shoved the rest of the letters under my armpit as I felt it out for me to see clearly.

"_1st Lieutenant Kit. stop._

_My headquarters is in London. stop._

_Here is the address that I will write from. stop._

_Enclosed is your first mission after your jump. stop._

_Report back to this address when you have succeeded. stop._

_Stay safe. stop._

_Captain Jacobs of Wolf Company_. _stop_."

"You got your first mission?" Shifty asked me as I looked at the second piece of paper behind the telegraph message. I read through quickly with my eyes, seeing what I had to do as soon as we landed from the jump and where I was supposed to go. It seemed like a clear shot since the area was supposed to be close to where Easy Company was going to be dropped off at.

"Yep, right after we land," I explained back to him, folding up the papers and shoving them back in the envelope that it came from. That got me mostly nervous since Jacobs already gave me a mission to uphold on my end and to succeed. So, how was I going to handle something this big? Was it going to be an easy mission, or was something going to go wrong? I tried to think on the positive side of this new information give to me, but it was still uneasy to feel since I had no clue what I was going to get myself into. So I moved that letter out of the way, shoving it in my jacket pocket and then grabbing the rest of the letters, seeing that one of them was from my father, and two were from Ethan and Samuel, and the last one was from my Uncle. I took a deep breath, thinking of how I was going to read it and not loose my temper and my mind.

"I'll see you later, I need to read these." I said over to Shifty, seeing him search my eyes and notice that I wanted to read them along. He gave me a gentle smile, moving away from me as I walked away from him. When it came to me, I was just wondering where I could go in order to read this letters without anyone trying to reach me.

When it came to me, I was just wondering where I could go in order to read this letters without anyone trying to reach me.

* * *

"Christ." I muttered, looking away from my first from my father and looking ahead of me. I went over to the side of the countryside where I knew no one else was going to do, since I knew that once I was reading one of the letters from home I wasn't going to act like a 1st Lieutenant anymore, more like a woman filled with fear.

Within the letter, my father told me on the continuous ranting my mother had on me and how I was totally breaking her heart for not coming home when she demanded it. Gerald was long out of the picture now since his family has had enough of your family trying to fix things up when I was nowhere near there to make an appearance to plead my case. My mother never told them that I was in the army, just that I was needing some time in the cool crisp air of nature with my Uncle in Colorado. Gerald had no trouble moving on, he was now engaged to another woman that his family thought would be suitable for him. Great, another girl that he can hit and not get his wrist slapped.

But the one thing that got me was the fact that my mother still convinced that I could come home and trying to make amends with her. My father reassured me in the letter that he reminded her that this was the best place for me, no matter how scary it sounded or felt to the both of them. She still was thinking that she could control me and get me back into the one daughter that she has always wanted. It made me sick, wondering when it was ever going to end. Did I even want to go home at this point? I cringed in my spot on the dirt road, wondering if even getting letters from my parents was enough for me to want to go home and see them again.

A jeep was coming along the dirt road, having me snap out of my thoughts and dreading memories of home to see who was in the front seat. It was none other than Lieutenant Ronald Spiers, seeing him at the wheel and I looked in both fascination and confusion as to why he was there. He saw me too, slowing down in the jeep and then stopping in front of me. I was facing him on the side of the road as he looked back at me with a small smile, the same smile that I saw for the first time late one night back in America.

"Lieutenant Kit, odd to see you out here by yourself." He said in a light manner, trying to make a light conversation with me. I shoved the letter in my jacket pocket without breaking eye contact with him, though he was seeing what I was doing and I just smiled back at him.

"I needed some fresh air from the town." I explained, seeing him tilt his head at me with the smile still here.

"The town's about three miles away, you walked three miles out here to read a letter?" he asked, not in criticism, but in interest. I shrugged my shoulders, since it felt less than 3 miles when I walked out of the town and along the road.

"I didn't mind it." I said back in my smile.

"Well, can I at least give you a ride back?" He asked, gesturing to the open spot in the jeep next to him. I should be weary about sitting with him, since I hardly knew the guy other than talking to him once or twice back in America. But then again, it would be nice to get to the town faster than to walk it out.

"Why not." I said back to him, seeing him reach over to open the door but I beat him to it and I jumped in, over the door and into the open spot. He was a bit shocked since he moved out of the way in time for me to land in the seat and he grinned from ear to ear then.

"You Wolf Company women are something else." He said in a joking manner as he got the jeep rolling back on the dirt road and we were off along the path back to the town. At first, I was quiet as I watched the line of trees pass us by, though I didn't know what to talk about at that moment since sitting next to a mysterious Lieutenant felt more like I was sitting next to the new kid in class: frightening and entrancing at the same time.

"I suppose you're wondering about Beta and how she's doing in our Company." Spiers said to me as we drove along, having me look over at him and see him still keep his eyes on the road.

"Not really. I was really wondering as to why you're here." I replied back, seeing him crack his grin.

"I'm here to deliver papers for another Captain that is stationed here, along with getting some names and other information that I am not allowed to tell you." He informed, though I grinned from hearing the small humor in his voice.

"I'm sure," I replied back,"Though now I'm interested in how Beta is doing."

"She's one tough soldier, but very good to get along with. Hell, half of us in our Company knows sign language now." He explained.

"Good, we need more sign language in the world. Heaven forbid she needs more supporters in her life than those who are against her." I breathed out, seeing him look at me briefly and with hesitance as we turned a turn to get closer to the town.

"She hasn't had a smooth ride with her deafness I take it?" he asked politely. I shook my head.

"Beta is going to hate me for telling you, but you might as well know." I started with him, "Half go her family disowned her because she was born deaf. Her dad had to raise her since her mother ran out on the both of them when she heard her daughter lost her hearing from the moment she was born." It pained me to know such things, and for that to happen to her and yet she was still good and kind enough to be my friend.

"I didn't know that." Spiers said softly, almost like it was paining him for just thinking about it himself.

"She never tells anyone. Hell, none of us in Wolf Company really talk about why we came to the war in the first place, we're more secretive with our pasts." I explained some more, looking ahead at the road in front of us, "Though I advise you not to say a word about it. She'll tell you when she's ready to, trust me."

"What about you then?" I looked back at him, raising a eyebrow at him.

"Excuse me?" I asked, not understanding.

"You have something you're hiding from me?" He asked me as we pulled back into the town and long the paved road again, seeing soldiers walk by and he was slowing down to drop me off at one the officers buildings. I was too hesitant to tell anyone, even him, about what happened to me and drove me to the war. What was I going to tell him then, what was worth telling? I barely knew that guy, yet he was having a hold on me like he was willing to be trusted and willing for me to vent to. It was something different from the men of Easy, very different.

"I barely know you, sir." I replied back to him in a small smile, seeing him nod in agreement.

"Very true, though I find you interesting enough to want to get to know more." He reassured me.

"And why is that?" I pondered with him. He paused, having me notice that he was thinking to himself and then he answered me.

"Because you carry yourself very well around here," He replied, having me suddenly feel like I could, in fact, blush if he said something else that kind for me. What in the hell was wrong with me? Why was this harder for me to talk to the guy? I hated that he was both kind and able to carry himself, not to mention handsome beyond words and walks like he's floating on air and able to command anyone around him. So I reluctantly got out from the jeep and he eyed me from his spot in the driver's seat. It was the feeling of warmth all over me again, like it was seeping into my pores and having me inhale and exhale it without realizing what was going on. He just smiled, and that smile that he shared with me almost made me loose my train of thought and my breath.

"I hope to see you again soon, Lieutenant Kit." He said to me in both kindness and in almost a suave manner.

"The same as you, Speirs." I replied back, seeing him nod at me and then ride off in his jeep. The breath that I was holding was going through my nose again and I blinked, realizing that I was in a daze from just looking at the man and I have never felt that way about another man before, not even Gerald. With him, it felt more like a staggered dream, like it was staged and not meant to be real. But with Spiers, with everything around me almost looking more colorful and feeling more raw, it was something I thought infatuation felt like. No wonder the girls in my old class were always smiling after talking to a cute boy from the basketball class, because I was feeling the same thing that they were feeling.

Oh shit.

* * *

"Get me another card, will ya?" Luz asked me as I was looking at my own set of cards. I was playing a round of cards with some of the men early in the night, since I had nothing else to do that day and I didn't really want to look at another map without getting a headache. So at the small round table that we found in the town, I was with Luz, Bull, a reluctant Liebgott, Webster, Perconte and Toye. We asked Guarnene to join us, but he was hesitant to be in the same room with Joe because of the slur he used against Sobel on the ship over, which rubbed Joe the wrong way.

"You look like you're sweating over there, Luz." Toye commented with a grin on his face.

"Don't count on it, Toye. I think I have a pretty good set here." Luz replied back to him, though he was now looking over at me from my spot next to Bull and Percent, "By the way, I thought I saw you hopping out of a jeep with none other than 1st Lieutenant Ronald Spiers from Dog Company yesterday afternoon." I looked up from hearing him say this, the others did as well as I tried to let it roll off my shoulders.

"He was giving me a lift." I answered back smoothly, though he grinned at me and had a chuckle on his lips.

"Oh really? Because it looked like you two were having a nice conversation from the look you had on your face when he drove off," Luz explained some more, having me glare at him softly as he then placed his card face down on the table to look at me fully, "Was it love in your eyes?" He was using a fake British Accent now.

"You wish it was meant for you." Perconte said back to him, some of the other guys chuckling.

"Spill it, Kit. Were you swooned?" Luz asked some more in a dreamlike manner, batting his eyelashes and having me see Joe roll his eyes from my corner of my own.

"We just talked about Beta who's in his Company, and that is it." I answered back to him cooly, not wanting to look my own temper from the sheer bantering that was going on with the men.

"I'm sure." Bull joked, having me placed my own cards on the table and then look at all the men now with a somewhat stern glare.

"Keep trying to tease me like that, and you can loose an eye." I advised them softly, then they got the hint as we were about to go on with our game. I didn't want to be teased by them, not at all since it felt like high school all over again with these guys. But it was short lived when we heard someone rushing into the room and opening the door in a fast rate. We all looked up, seeing it was Guarnene and he looked out of breath, like he was running some kind of marathon and not being able to stop.

"What is it, Bill?" I asked him, getting up from my spot to make sure he was oaky. He looked over at me, and small look of shock on his face.

"Sobel's been reassigned." We all didn't say a single word, looking at him like he just lied to us. But how he told us, it must have been true.

"You shitting me?" Joe asked in disbelief.

"Like I would lie about something like this!" Guarnene replied, walking over to stand near us at the table,"God's honest truth: He was reassigned to help train more men back at the training camps! He's no longer our Captain!"

"Jesus!" Luz exclaimed, leaning back in his chair and then giving him a questioning look, "Who's our Captain now?"

"Who knows, I wouldn't give a shit who it is! All that matters, is that son of a bitch ain't ordering us anymore!" Guarnene said in joy as some of the other men were cheering at the table. I was glad too, glad that the boys were no longer in torment with him. But that left another question hanging in the air and the balance of this Company.

Who was going to lead us?

* * *

"Lieutenant Winters, sir?" I was waiting outside one of the tents that Winters was in out on the base camp, a couple of hours before we were scheduled to jump and I was wanting to talk to him about what happened between Winters and Sobel. It was still making me feel bad, since the feeling that was overcoming me was guilt, that I was the main reason that Winters was in trouble. More days came and went, and I was getting too occupied with other matters involving the war, along with more training with the men to go and talk to Winters one on one. The more I trained with the men, the more I was getting closer to each of the men and having casual conversations with them. It felt nice, us talking about what we did before the war and other meaningless things. It reminded me of the Wolf Company and how we grew together within a year of being together as one group. The countless nights of laughing, playing cards and joking about old heartaches, memories of finding our passion that brought us to the army, and hopes for the future.

It was the same with these men, and yet they did not exclude me. Luz would invite me to plenty of card playing night card playing nights with the men, watching them play basketball with a homemade hoop that was out on the street, encouraging them through their rough training, and other times we were together. They never saw me as the outsider, nor did they see me weak as a female. They saw me as a Easy Company member.

One of them.

"Come on in, Kit." He said to me as he was overlooking a map on the table that was inside. He finally looked over at me, seeing him stand there in my combat uniform and he eyed me, "Shouldn't you be getting ready for the jump, Kit?"

"I wanted to talk to you before we were setting off for the planes, sir." I explained, seeing him watch me for a solid second before turning around completely and giving me a small smile.

"What's on your mind?" He asked, not sounding aggravated or angry like I thought he would be.

"Sir, I wanted to see if I was….if it was my fault that you were in trouble." I said to him with hesitance, seeing that in his eyes he was not getting what I was trying to tell him.

"What do you mean?" He asked, sounding more confused.

"When Sobel wanted to talk to you, It had something to do with me joining the mock run, wasn't it?" I asked, sounded more pathetic than a regular Lieutenant would. He then realized what I was talking about. He shook his head instantly then.

"You had nothing to do with it, Lieutenant Kit." He reassured me, "He was court martialing me for another reason, but it had nothing to do with you."

"Really?" I asked him.

"Yes, he had other reasons to punish me, but it wasn't from you," Winters replied, having me look at him in hesitance then to see what else he was going to tell me, "However, it means that he is no longer in command of Easy."

"Where does that leave us with a Captain?" I asked him, since it was still a hot topic with the men in Easy.

"Right now, all that we have to worry about it landing safely and getting ready for what lies ahead. A Captain will come by soon enough, and until such time I'm going to make sure Easy Company is ready for anything that is thrown at us." Winters explained to me with his smooth but authoritative manner. I smiled at him, though I was still standing and somewhat of an attention stance.

"If that is the case, then Easy Company is in great hands with your leading us, sir." I complimented him, seeing him give me a reassuring small grin. I knew he was not one to take compliments fully, he was a bit too humble for something like that, not having pride get into his head.

"Thank you Lieutenant," He thanked me, and I could tell in his tone and how he was looking at me that he truly meant it. He then looked behind me, seeing another Lieutenant there at the front of the tent. I didn't recognize him at first, so he must have been new with the Company like how I was. He had short blond hair, bright blue eyes and a look that made me think that he was from California with the tan skin and how he was grinning. Was he from hollywood? It felt like it as Winters spoke up to him.

"Glad you came over, Buck. This is our 1st Lieutenant Kit from Wolf Company. Kit, this is Lynn Compton, a new transfer to our Company and 2nd Lieutenant." Winters said to the both of us as Buck walked over, holding out his hand for me to shake. The grin he had on his face showed that he was in fact from some kind of stardom. I could tell as I shook his hand with my own.

"Pleasure, Kit." He replied back to me, his voice was smooth enough to having me almost chuckle from how much confidence he had in his voice.

"Same to you, Compton." I said to him.

"You two head back to the men and make sure that they are ready to go for the jump tonight." Winters ordered the both of us, we saluted him and both exited the tent, walking side by side for a moment or two in silence before Buck spoke up to me.

"So, Wolf Company, eh? I heard stories." He said more as a comment than anything, and I just grinned at him as we walked along the grass.

"Everyone has."

* * *

The jump was canceled.

It resulted in us watching movies throughout the night in the tents, though I was more reluctant o watch and decided to get some fresh air outside along the cloudy evening. The movies were fine tow watch, but my mind was too occupied with my family back at home and how I was about to jump out of a plane and into warfare without realizing it. It was no longer a matter of months or weeks, but now a matter of hours, and it was getting me a bit scared.

The cool air in the England night made me blink once or twice before tapping my jacket and feeling the letter in my pocket, the same letter from my father that I got earlier in our stop in the town. It was still a pain to feel how my parents were feeling about me being in the war. They wanted me to come home, but it was covered and swamped in the bitter memories of being brainwashed goring up and being confined to one aspect of living. For some reason, being in this war, gave me a sense of freedom and a sense of belonging, when my home was more like a prison than anything.

I wished that I would talk to them one more time on the phone before I jumped, maybe to tell them that I would never forgive my mother for what she did and how she tried to raise me, but I still loved her. I would never hate her, that was no the issue. Though she made me loose my trust for anyone else that would want to be close. Did that mean Easy Company? What about Winters and Nixon, even the girls in Wolf Company and Captain Jacobs. But what about Ronald Spiers?

What about him?


	9. Chapter 9

**1944**

"Look who it is!" I grinned from my spot as I walked into the makeshift tent that was set up in the open fields where we were about to take off into the night and into war. The rest of the men were getting their own things prepared, and I was sent to find Captain Jacobs to get my first mission from him. After we had the no flight the night before, and seeing the movies they gave to us to pass the time, I was scared as to where I was going and how I was going to find Easy Company again. So as the sun was setting on us and the men were getting their gears ready for action, I was looking at two faces that I haven't seen since we were in America.

Captain Jacobs and Jade.

"Hello beautiful!" I said back to her, walking over to give her a huge hug as Captain Jacobs grinned next to us. It felt good to see another Wolf Company member there since I was so used to being around the Easy boys for weeks and weeks on end.

"How are those boys treating you in Easy Company? Are you keeping them in line?" Jade asked with her grin as we pulled away and looked at each other. She was wearing her pilot gear though her Wolf Company Sigma was still on her sleeve and her hair was now up in a bun with braids to keep away from her face.

"Of course, they have nothing on me." I replied, giving her a wink.

"You're looking like a real soldier here, Kit." Jacobs said to me, having me smile and him and salute him.

"Thank you, sir. Glad to be able to help with any missions you have for me." I explained as he saluted me back.

"Just what I want to hear. Walk with me." He said to me as the three of us went over to his makeshift desk that they gave him and I saw some of the information there sprawled out on the map and in the letters that were addressed to him.

"I've gathered information on your first mission: a small battalion that is going to be heading over in our boy's direction along the river crossing here." He explained, pointing with his pen along the river line on the map, "Jade is going to fly you solo over to the jump point, you jump and land, and then take out any German soldiers who are still within this battalion."

"Yes, sir." I replied.

"Now, there shouldn't be no more than 10 of these men, so it's an easy hit and run situation for you. Jade will fly over the perimeter for you and make sure you are safe before she flies back to come back here in England." Jacobs said some more as I looked over to see Jade give me a reassuring smile.

"After I fulfill this mission, where is my next destination, sir?" I asked him, seeing him grab another letter and then point to the next pinpoint on the map.

"Easy Company is assigned to meet at this rallying point, here." He said to me, having me see the name on the map.

"Sainte-Mère-Église." I read the name out loud to make sure I had it right.

"Easy and the rest of the 506th will be there to meet up and get their bearings, and you will too. After you fulfill your mission with the German battalion, I want you to get their as soon as you can and not be left behind." Jacobs reminded me, having me nod my head as he handed me the letter and I folded it neatly before shoving it in my jacket pocket.

"You will report back to me with a letter, and I will give you your next assignment as soon I get word that you did what you had to." He ended that with me, having me take in a shaky breath since I could feel the weight of the letter in my jacket pocket. This was going to be the start of my assassination career with the army, and I was now fearing that I wasn't going to do the best job in the world. No, I had to remind myself, this was why Jacobs wanted me with this Company. He knew I was going to be fine, he had faith in me. And I needed faith in myself. So I breathed out, pushed my short hair from my eyes and gave both Jade and Jacobs intense stares of understanding. Time to work.

* * *

"All right, listen up! Listen up! If you didn't sign your G.I life insurance policy, you go on and see Sgt. Evans at Headquarters Company tent. You boys don't let your families miss out on $10,000." 1st Lieutenant Lipton was calling out to the men as I was walking past him to meet with the other Easy Company men and tell them that I wasn't going to be with them on the plane. As of right now, they thought I was going to be with them for the jump, but they had no clue I had my own agendas when it came to the war. It was kind of saddening since they were so happy to be paratroopers, and I wasn't going to be with them for the jump, after all.

"Heya, Kit. You did yours?" Lipton asked me, having me smile and nod my head at him as I walked over, seeing him already in his jumping attire.

"Already filled one out this morning, thanks, Lipton." I said back to him, though he was eyeing me up and down and seeing that I wasn't ready myself for the jumping. I didn't have my gear on, though I was still wearing my Wolf Company uniform that was mostly black in color and more fitting to me.

"Why aren't you ready, Lieutenant?" He asked, not as an order but with more crusty and confusion there on his face.

"Because I'm not jumping with you boys." I explained, seeing his face go into a bit of a shock as a couple of the guys were walking over after they hear within earshot of what I said to Lipton.

"What does that mean?" he asked with more confusion there, now having me see Eugene, Luz, Joe, Toye, Talbert, Sisk and Shifty there with him as they were watching me too to see if what they heard the truth and not a lie. I looked at all of their faces, already greased up and their jumping gear was ready for take off any time now. It was already bad enough to have me see them again for awhile.

"I was given a job for Wolf Company, so I'm flying out on my own." I said to them all, hearing nothing at first since they were thinking this was some kind of joke. Hell, I wish it was, but it was the truth.

"All by yourself?" Shifty asked me in hesitance, having me see the somewhat hurt on his face.

"I'm meet up with you boys as soon as I complete my mission, but yeah… by myself." I explained, seeing him look over at Lipton with an uneasy look on his face.

"That's a bit, risky, don't you think? Sending one soldier to go some dirt work in the middle of the night?" Toye asked, though I shrugged my shoulders at him.

"I'm not a soldier, Toye. Remember?" I reminded him, seeing him pause in his own thoughts as the others were drinking it in. They had to be reminded, I was there to be an assassin, nothing more or less.

"Look, I'll be with you guys before you know it. It's just one mission that I have to do so far, and there's going to be plenty more in the future. But right now, you boys take care of yourselves and don't die on your first night." I explained to them all, seeing him nod their heads at me with small smiles on their faces as I was trying to make the atmosphere lighter and less of a downer. Both sides were feeling the haunting reality of war upon our shoulders and yet we were more depressed that I was going to be separated from them. Even Joe looked a but uneasy about it, though I knew he was not going to show as much.

"You take care of yourself, Kit. You're one of us now, and we want you safe." Luz said in all seriousness to me, though he cracked a small smile to me. I smiled back, seeing him clasped me on the shoulder before Shifty gave me a small hug.

"I'm gonna need my wingman, so you better come back." Shifty reminded me, having me squeeze him a bit tighter since we grew closer as snipers and friends.

"I'll never leave you out to dry, Shifty. I promise." I promised him, pulling away before I saw Eugene give me his sheepish but warm smile and he gave me a small hug that was short than as Shifty's hug, but just as comforting.

"Be safe." He said to me with his soothing accent and I nodded in agreement.

"You too, Doc." I reminded him. The boys were giving me small smiles and words of encouragement as I then saw them leave one by one. I knew they were going to be fine, but it was still a unreassuring thought that something could go wrong. Joe gave me one nod of his head and a very small smile, though I smiled back at him. He was trying really hard with me, though I still had no clue as to why he was not liking me as much as the others were, but he was trying non the less and we were slowly getting to know each other. It was just at a slower pace than the others. The last one to say goodbye to me was Lipton, whom was good Lieutenant and someone whom looked out for the others when they needed moral support or care.

"We'll see you there?" Lipton asked me in a thoughtful manner.

"Of course, Lipton. Wouldn't want to leave my boys behind." I said back in a light tone. But as I watched the Easy men getting briefed by Winters in front of the planes, in their jumping gear, I felt as though I want to pray over them and make sure that they were safe. I was never religious, not once in my life since I felt God was lost favor for me when Gerald raped me, but in that moment I wanted to talk to God again. So I did, and I payed that God would forgive me for not talking to him in years and I prayed that he would protect the men, and my own life as well.

"You ready to go?" Jade asked from behind me, walking over to me as I tore my eyes away from the men finally and see him watch me. She was looking just as determined as well, her own grease was on her face and her pilot gear ready to go as I nodded. WE both walked away from the men, though my heart was feeling heavier with each step and I hoped that God heard me.

I knew he did.

* * *

"Jesus, Jade! Could you fly even lower!" I screamed at her over the roar of the plane as I was sitting right behind her in her plane: a Beechcraft Model 18 that was flying over the European countryside and was taking me to my first dropoff. We were about five minutes out and Jade was flying the plane with both precision, and with daredevil like qualities since she was trying not to get us hit. But damn, she was a great pilot and was flying the plane like it was embedded into her skin.

"If you wanted a safe jump, you should have stayed with Easy!" Jade advised me in her own loud tone, though I could see her snickering now as I rolled my eyes. Night was surrounding us then, though we were getting bombardments left and right from either the enemy or our own planes, making the plane we were in shake once in awhile from the sheer sound and movements of the bombs going off. I wasn't afraid to fly, since we had our own practice jumps and we flew with Jade plenty of times on the training grounds, but this was real.

This was a real war.

"Get ready to jump, Kit!" Jade called out to me over the engine sound, having me shoot up and get my jumping gear tapped and ready. She checked my gear before we took off, seeing that all I had to do was jump when she told me to: simple enough when it was said. But then again things could go wrong within a moment. However, we were part of Wolf Company, where we were supposed to be ready for anything that could go wrong. I walked over to the side of the plane, seeing the door and placing my hand on it before opening it and feeing the gush of wind there against my whole body and almost being knocked to the ground from the sheer force. I clung onto the side of the plane with my fingers to keep myself from falling out, planting my feet and then seeing the land below me and how we were flying by with ease. It was louder now, but my mind was suddenly back on a sudden memory of my father and I

_I was five, and my father was swinging me in my arms and having me see my strawberry blond hair fly in the cool summer air at out large home in Seattle. He was laughing, holding me close and having me giggle in his arms. Those arms, I loved those arms. He made me feel protected and safe when he held me close. I missed being held by him from time to time. _

"_You are my sunshine…my only sunshine…" My father would sing me that song every night before I went to bed, when I would cry from hearing another ranting from my mother for tearing my tights or getting mud on my dress, and when we would just play outside on the lawn. His voice rang in my ear, those words filled me like a drug, and I was reminded that he was thinking of me in that moment while I was in the line, about to jump to what could be my death._

"Kit!" I looked behind me, seeing Jade look back at me though her hands were still on the steering wheel and she was still flying the plane. She gave me a reassuring look, both in comfort and in determination since this was when we were going to be separated once again, and who knows when we will be back together again. I smiled at her, though inside I wanted to refuse to jump out of the plane.

"You can do this! We will meet up again, I promise!" She yelled out at me, having me nod at her and show that I agreed with what she said. She was convinced that we were going to meet again, and I had to have the same kind of faith she had too in order to get through this war.

"I'll see you soon!" I called out to her, seeing her grin at me as she gave me thumbs up.

"JUMP!" She commanded, having me look forward again and launch myself out of the plane into the sky, falling into the earth and taking out the breath that was in my lungs since falling from the sky pushed out the air from my lungs without my knowledge.

Time to fly.

* * *

I landed, throwing off my parachute gear and then staying down low in what seemed to me a long stretch of open grass, though I was near a farm. The bombs were still going off all around me in the air and I had to duck to find cover to see where I had to go for my first mission. Running along the grass, rifle taken out and ready to go, and I was mentally preparing myself for what was to come. Getting to a safe place was the first thing on my mind, and then getting to the meeting place of the small battalion was the next step. But for now, I had to get my bearings.

Running along the grass, I find the farm that I landed next to was in face next to the river that I was supposed to be near with the German Battalion within moments. This was perfect, and I had to thank Jade for the proper send off since she knew where I had to go. So, running over to the river in the dead of night and feeling the crips cold air that was surrounding me, my feet getting used to the grassy ground below me and my hands were trying to hold onto my rifle without getting all sweaty in fear and excitement at the same time.

Once I reached the river, I opened the map that was in my front jacket pocket and I peered through where I needed to go and where I was in that moment. I was a bit off, but nothing that a short walk won't fix. and once I grabbed my compass, I was pointing in the right direction: needing to walk North and then to take out the small German Battalion there. I shoved everything back in my pockets, closed my eyes for a brief second and took a longer breath that I was wanting to take since I landed on the ground in foreign soil. I had to concentrate, this was no time to be afraid.

So I started to run along the river, gun in hand my helmet tapping against my head and hearing the small amount of splashing from my boots hitting the water along the river and I scanned the area that could give any hint of the German Battalion.

As I ran, I thought of Easy Company and where they were in the whole war, if they made the jump alright. But then, I thought of Wolf Company and how we were all spread out in the war with no idea where the others were. Were they all okay? Something told me within my own heart that they were going to be fine, but it didn't stop me from fearing for them. Lastly, and for some odd reason, my mind then went to Ronald Spiers. Why I was thinking about him in that moment, I had no entire idea as to why. But then again, he knew how to make my insides warm with just one smile and how he spoke to me, never looking down on me because I was a woman in the warm, but look across at me as another officer in the war. He saw me as an equal, nothing more or less than that. I then too wondered if he was okay, and if I was going to see him again.

Rustling was heard in front of me, having me freeze and duck over to the side where the thick tree trunks were to peer out and around to what was around me. I could hear it, hear them to be specific. They were walking this way, just as planned, and I waited to hear them come closer and closer to my direction. So I threw my rifle over my shoulder, peering up at the tree I was hiding behind. Armies taught me how to climb a tree, the third day of being in the army to my exact. So I climbed, though it was a bit harder since I had more gear on me. Yet we trained in how to climb in boots, so I was up on the branch within seconds and I planted myself on a branch and peered down below before I scanned the area. My one hand was on the tree to keep myself stable, and the other on the branch my own feet were planted on.

I could hear their conversations going on, and I made me watch with my own eyes and see someone people coming out of the distance and near the river, as expected. I had to think on how I was going to do this, with what I had as I saw the men walking close together and talking in German. Peering down at my equipment I had on me I had to take inventory with what I was going to have to work with: my rifle, one pistol, my pair of brass knuckles, at least three knives and one a couple of grenades, one of them happened to be a smoke grenade. Perfect.

"_Wo ist unser Treffpunkt?_" (Where is our Checkpoint?) I heard below me as I counted with my finger how many German Soldiers there were. Eight of them, all huddled together and they were trying to get along the rive without behind spotted. I waited to the right moment, slowly reaching down along the belt and waist line to grab the daggers that were there. I grabbed one, then the other in the same hand before holding one in each and watching them with my eyes without moving or making a sound. Even breathing was going to be tricky with this group, so I waited, having my knives out and ready.

"_Wir müssen in Bewegung zu halten." _(We need to keep moving.) I heard below me from another soldier and I then threw out the two knives, seeing two of the men gasp out and then topple over as I threw my rifle over my shoulder, aimed and shot three times at the other three men before they could blink. The rest that were still alive, although they were yelling out where it came from, aimed at the tree where I was. I moved out and out of the way with my rifle back on my back as I grabbed the smoke bomb. Unpinning it and launching it to the floor. The bomb went off, smoke rising into the air and the place smoking up without any of them seeing where I was and what was going on. They were coughing and gasping for air as I threw myself onto the floor in the middle of them, though they were too blind from the smoke to see me.

I quickly snapped on my brass knuckles, grabbed one by the shoulder and punching him hard in the jaw to knock him out. He fell as a second one saw me, about to shoot when kicked him in the knee to break the kneecap and he screamed out, falling to the floor and having me grab his rifle he was holding in the process. The third, right in my line of fire, was shot down once by the rifle in my hand and I looked around me, taking in a small breath as the smoke cleared. Seven of the eight were dead, their bodies sprawled out on the floor as the last one, the one with the busted kneecap, was screaming out in pain. Walking over, I kicked his gun away from him and saw he had no pistol on him, so he had no weapon to use against me. I looked down at him, titling my head to the side as he was looking right up at me and checked his uniform to see if he was an officer. No luck.

"_Were war Ihr Offizier?" _(Who was your officer?) I asked him calmly, though he was more petrified about me killing 7 men in front of him and having him loose the ability to move his leg. I waited patiently, though I was still having my brass knuckles on my hands and a German pistol in one. He gulped, seeing that I meant business and I just stared, standing over him. He pointed with his finger, the third soldier away from him and I looked, though he wasn't going to move since I aimed the German pistol at him with my finger on the trigger. I walked, though my pistol was still aimed, and looked at the dead soldier he pointed. Sure enough, he was the officer and I reached down, tapping his sides and the pockets he had on them to find what I was looking for. The other wounded one did nothing, said nothing but was gasping in pain from the kneecap that was slowly bleeding out.

Finally, I got the stack of papers, all in German writing and I shoved them in my own pocket now, looking back at the wounded soldier who was still looking at me in both fear and in horror as I stood up completely again. I nodded my head once at him.

"_Danke." _(Thank you.) I said to him, shooting once more and he died in front of me. I killed eight men within two minutes, and it was only the very beginning of the war. For some reason, I was not scared that I became a murderer, nor was I scared that this was going to stain me for the rest of my life. I was mostly scared that I was now changed as a person. Being a female in the army that was sent to kill people, that was going to change and I was going to live the rest of my life looking back at this moment: looking back at the first moment that I killed.

After pulling out the knives from the dead bodies, I walked away from the group of dead bodies around me without a second glance. I had the papers that I needed, throwing down the German pistol and having my rifle in front of me again as I went out from the river to find the rest of the men in Easy and get back to them as soon as I could. And as I walked, trying to get my mind back in the game, I was praying that I wasn't going to loose my mind from what I just did. So I walked along the dirt road, hearing the rest of the war going on all around me, and I hoped that I would find something soon.

* * *

An hour into walking along the dirt road, still hearing nothing too close for me to be threatened with as I followed the dirt road that was leading me to the meeting place. The air was cooler, the noises were farther away from me and all I could really hear was the sound of the boots hitting the dirt road, the rustling of the wind in the trees, and the nightlife in the little town in Normandy. I checked the map at least three times before I went on my journey, along with using my compass and having a good feeling about it. Yet I didn't get in contact with any other soldier while on my walk: either American or German.

"Flash!" I froze in the middle of the road, rifle low but armed with my finger ready to pull as I looked around for the source of the sound. It came from somewhere close, close and high up. I was a but confused as to why I was hearing that phrase, and it was not in a German accent either. No, this sounded American, and it sounded familiar.

"Flash, dammit!" I heard it again and I whirled around to hear it coming from a tree high above, deep within the branches and leaves. Below the tree was another dead body, a German one and I looked to make sure that the soldier was dead. Walking over I tapped the body with my boot, seeing that he was of no harm but wondered how he was dead near a tree. I peered through the coverings of the trees, slowly seeing someone there who was stuck. I had my rifle close to me, ready to shoot in case as I walked over a bit closer now, wondering who it was.

"Who the hell says 'flash'?" I asked in a low tone to whoever it was, thinking that it was more of a joke than anything since I was the only one out there. This could be my imagination, it really could.

"And Easy Company member, that's who!" I lowered my gun now, knowing that voice as I saw his face. I grinned, sighing in relief and throwing my rifle over my shoulder as I was now at the base of the tree, looking straight up at the face of Bull.

"What are you doing up there?" I asked him in wonder, more wonder and less fear.

"I landed here, my chute is stuck. You got a knife?" He asked in a grunt as I could see him struggling to get out of his straps.

"Where are your knives?" I asked him, seeing him roll his eyes.

"For Christ sakes, they got lost when I landed. We had a nasty send off, now get me down before I kill myself!" He said in a groan, having me smirk as I then hopped up into the tree with ease, like before, and climbed my way up to be with Bull face to face, who was struggling in the tree a bit as I got out one of my knives from my belt.

"I see you took care of yourself with that one soldier down there." I said to him as I started to saw the strap on his shoulder, seeing Bull peer down at the body and smirk.

"He was about to stab me when I got my bayonet ready against his chest." He replied back as I worked on the other strap within seconds, "Now my gun's strapped to me and I can't get it loose to use the bayonet on me to cut me down."

"Way to think ahead, Bull." I said to him, seeing him pull himself free and land not he branch uneasily as I perched over the branch myself more like a cat. I got my knife back in my belt and we both stared at each other. Bull looked okay from where I was: nothing too bloody on him with his grease on his face or too bad for me to have to help him. We both hopped down and landed on the grassy ground, hearing an owl off in the distance and Bull rearranging his gear on himself before looking over at me.

"You know where to go?" He asked.

"We're a couple of miles out, due West." I explained, pointing in the same direction where I was heading before I ran into him. He nodded, sighing and grabbing his rifle before taking off the bayonet piece to place in his pocket.

"Let's head out then." he replied, having me grin at him and we both started to walk together back on the road and into the darkness of the foreign land, not knowing who we were going to run into next, or where we were going to end up. But one thing is for certain:

I was glad I had someone to walk with.


	10. Author's Note

**Author's Note:**

Sorry for not being able to update the story so much as I have done before with my previous stories. My laptop decided to go haywire on me and I have to get a new Logic Board on my Macbook pro. Fortuantely, I have my Macbook Pro protected under Apple Care and it is completely free for me to get it replaced! Huzzah! saves me $500 bucks!

Unfortunately, this means that it''ll be awhile until I can update on our story. But have no fear, it shall happen soon and I am going to try and brainstorm on the story until I can get my laptop back! thanks for reading and please review for me so I know if I am going an okay job!


	11. Chapter 11

"You got any water in your canteen?" Bull asked me as we were walking along the road, having me blink once to get the sleepiness out of my eyes that were threatening to be there.

"Here." I said to him, handing him my own canteen that was on my hip as we were still going along with our rifles in hand, not saying a word to one another for another couple seconds. The night was still hanging over us, though the bombings were far off in the distance now and no longer a huge threat to us, it made me wonder where the rest of the men were since apparently the landing was not a huge success to them at all.

"Where do you think the others are?" I asked Bull as he drank some of the water, then handing it back to me before he answered.

"No idea, but knowing those guys, they're gonna be alright." Bull reassured me though his voices sounded more gruff than soothing.

"They can defend themselves if they have to." I added, since it did make more sense that they would be able to handle anything and anyone that was close to being a threat to them, but it was still a matter of where they were and if they found each other that was the big issue on my heart.

"What about your Wolf Company friends?" Bull asked me in curiosity.

"Oh, they can handle anyone that wants to be rough with them. We've been training on how to handle things on our own from the moment we were recruited for the army, this should be a cake walk to them." I explained back in calm demeanor though Bull's eyes were still on me from time to time since they would shift from my form to the road ahead of us.

"You never told me why you came to the army." He reminded me though it was more intrigued than an agitated manner. I didn't say anything since it was never a thought to talk to him about something like that. Hell, I never told any of the guys from Easy why I really came to the army in the first place.

"Why does any person join the army, Bull? They join told defend their country and perform their duty." I replied back in a smooth manner.

"That's what everyone says when they are asked, but I doubt that is the same for you." Bull resounded back to me.

"What makes you think that?" I questioned, not understanding where he was going with this conversation as we were walking along the dirt path and feeling the cold air hit our faces. It was odd that he wanted to talk about this now with me, the first night of the war and with us in the middle of God knows where to find the rest of our men. Yet again, it would be better to talk about this now instead of in the middle of a battle or worse.

"Well for one, you look too damn comfortable to be here as a soldier since I could tell the rest of us in Easy are still wonderin' if we made the right choice or not." Bull explained to me with his Arkansas accent seeping into the night air.

"I like what I do." I retorted back though I kept it light.

"You like being an assassin?" He asked me, cocking his eyebrow at me and then having me look at him now in full blown confusion.

"Where are you going with this, Bull?" I asked since now I was no longer wanting to play a guessing game with him but just wanted to get it out in the open for the both of us. He stopped walking then, having me stop and face them since I wanted to know what was going on in his own head.

"Look, maybe it's just me, or maybe it's that you never talk about your own life back at home like we do when we hang out together during training…" Bull trailed off, having me see that he was struggling with the right words.

"It never came up, no one asked." I countered back carefully.

"But we still talked about our homes, our families and what we left behind, you know?" He asked, having me pause as he went on, "You never said one thing about your family except that you have three brothers and you grew up shooting." He closed his eyes, already having me see that this was frustrating for him as he took a deep breath.

"All I am saying, is that to me…and to some of the other guys in Easy…you're hiding something from us." I knew he was going to say something like that, or someone was going to at least once in this whole war. This is why I was angry with myself for getting too close to these men, because they were then going to ask questions about me and what I did before I came to the war. My heart was still heavy with the subject, heavy and raw. I shook my head slowly and breathed out a shaky breath, not wanting to talk about _this_ now with him in the middle of the night out on our first night in the war.

"Let's just say that my family, other than my brothers, wasn't the most supportive of me." I explained calmly though I was still treading on careful waters there when I wording it out loud.

"What do you mean by that?" He wondered with me. I rubbed my eyes with my fingers, once again finding myself in a tough spot to see if I was going to say this the right way or the wrong way.

"Let me put it this way," I paused, instantly thinking back to Gerald and his face flooding my mind in the same manner as water hitting the shores on the beach: with no resistance and with no hope of survival, "What I am doing here, is the best thing for me and my life right now." I said nothing more, walking away from him and not hearing him for a moment before he started walking as well. I didn't want to talk about it anymore since it was more of a mood killer than anything. There was a lot of doubts that the men of Easy Company wanted to hear about my upper-class life that was laced with strict rules, brainwashing elements on how to be the perfect daughter, and it ends with a brutal sexual assault from someone whom I was blindingly trusting.

"Sounds like you're trying to escape from somethin' back at home." Bull commented with his voice being a bit softer now compared to moments before when he was drilling me as to why I joined the army.

"You can say that." I murmured back to him, about to say something else when we heard another round of rustling in the distance, the both of us freezing in our walks as I placed my hand up in the air to signal for Bull to stop. I pointed down, having the both of us going down on one knee and aiming with our rifles at the source of the sound: several bushes along the road near what looked like a smaller cottage that was deserted and with no sign of life inside. I still kept my aim, but I had to think of who it would be and how we were going to take care of ourselves. There was only two of us there, and there might have been at least 6 men there in the bushes waiting to kill us.

"_Herauskommen_." (Come out.) I said out loud with my voice ringing into the night since a cool wind was coming through the area now. Nothing moved, no one spoke and there was silence hanging in the balance as I cocked my gun to get some kind of signal that I was not looking for some kind of sick joke.

"Flash!" Bull said behind me, though I turned around and was about to yell at him when someone spoke back in return.

"Thunder! And I would rather not get shot on my first night at war!" Both of our heads snapped back over to the voice and we both finally got up from kneeling on the floor, not longer wondering what was going on. Hell, no longer serious about the situation.

"Luz?" We asked aloud, hearing the rustling and then seeing two bodies coming out from behind the bushes, walking over to us slowly. One of the shadows had a rifle, the other did not. In fact, he had a satchel around his shoulder and against his hip now as they made their appearance and both Bull and I grinned in relief: George Luz and Eugene Roe. Just seeing them was already making this night less of a chore and more bearable to get through.

"You're a sight for sore eyes, Kit!" Luz said to me as he walked over with his rifle now slung over his shoulder and he gave me a one armed hug. I hugged back, glad to hear his voice and then seeing him walk over to Bull. Eugene gave me a reassuring hug as well, thought I could tell he was more glad to see someone else other than Luz out here in the middle of nowhere.

"What happened with you two?" Bull asked Luz as I pulled away from Eugene.

"You okay?" I asked him, since he looked mostly shaken. He nodded, taking in his own deep breath.

"Yeah, yeah I'm okay." He replied as I grinned at him before looked back at Luz and Bull.

"I landed 2 miles out East, almost got pierced by a fence from the goddamn drop. Walked around for a bit and ran into Doc here. He was on his way since he lost his map, like me. But thankfully he asked a family that was about a mile away where to go, thank God he knew French. Anyways, I tagged along and we saw a some German soldiers. So we dived in the bushes and stayed there until you guys came around." Luz explained as we were standing in a small huddle now. I pulled out my map then, my rifle back over my shoulder and against my back as I unfolded the paper and held it in the middle for the four of us to see. Luz grabbed his flashlight and shined it underneath the map, giving the small circle we had a glow in the dankness of the night.

"We are here." Eugene explained, pointing to a small area of the map with the name of the town there in French. I grinned, thanking God there in that moment that we had someone with us who knew and spoke the language like he was born with it under his skin. I was more prone to German with my training, whereas Nova was the French one in Wolf Company. But now we had Doc there.

"This is where we need to be." I explained too, pointing to the main dot on the map and seeing the distance we had there between us and the destination. It didn't seem like a long ways away from how we were viewing in.

"If we move now, we can make it there before the sun comes up." Bull added as I looked at me watch that I was wearing underneath my jacket sleeve.

"We have three hours until daylight." I said to the group, seeing Luz turn off the flashlight and I grabbed the map to fold it back up and shove it back in my pocket.

"Let's get movin' then." Bull instructed, all of us started to walk down the road again and keep our eyes and ears open for anything that could be coming our way. The only one that looked more hesitant about the whole situation was Doc, since he had no weapon to take care of himself. It left him more out in the open to be a victim if we had Soldiers coming our way, so without even thinking I moved over to stay close to him with my own rifle in front of me.

I could see Doc look over at me, at first with confusion on his face as to why I moved over to be near him, but then again he just held his satchel close to him and was quiet. Technically I was part of Easy Company as much as I was a part of Wolf Company, so this meant that I both had allegiance to the girls in Wolf Company and to the men in Easy Company. Not only did I have my own obligations that were to Jacobs, but that also meant I had to help out with the boys as much as I could. Even if it meant I had to play the protection card, then so be it. Eugene was worth it, hell, all of the men in Easy were worth it.

"So your jump went well then, Kit?" Luz asked after a moment or two of walking with the four of us along the road, though my eyes were still on the road and making sure that we were safe enough to walk and not get hit with an assault. I grinned, liking that I was back within the sam area as Luz and hearing the jokes coming back out to play. Even in times of seriousness, Luz knew how to make a stain feel a bit better.

"Well enough to not loose a leg from the landing." I commented back to him, seeing him smirk from his spot next to Bull.

"Did you have to kill anyone yet?" He asked with a tilt of his head, though I rearranged by hands on my rifle before I answered hi.

"Wouldn't you like to know, Luz." I replied, the others smirking too from how cool I was acting in the conversation with Luz.

Yeah, he would like to know.

* * *

"Okay, your turn." I thought to myself as we were still walking now within a deep condensed forest with the trees hanging over us in the small area of France, though there were still times when we thought we were being followed. So far, we were doing okay and dawn was nearly coming our way.

"Fine. Let me think…..uhh…my own queen sized bed." I explained to Luz, seeing him chuckle from next to me and Doc smirking as we walked along. We were playing a game in which we were talking about all the things we missed back at home.

"Zydeko music." Doc said next to me with a murmur in his tone.

"Pie." Luz replied, having me look at him with a cock of my own eyebrow as I rearranged the strip on my shoulder with my rifle.

"The past three things that you have told us involved food." Bull stated in almost a statement, having me chuckle.

"And there is nothing wrong with that at all!" Luz retorted back to him as we turned the corner within the forest, having me see the sky getting a bit lighter from the sun that was slowly coming along our way, though it was still nighttime in our eyes. I scanned the trees up above us to see the leaves move to and for with the wind and the movements of the earth.

"I miss seeing the stars in Arkansas. They're the best in America." Bull said with such pride in his tone, though my mind was occupied with what I was hearing far off in the distance. I looked head at me for a second, but then looking back up at the trees above us to see that I can climb these trees to see what was going on.

"You're treading on thin ice there with those words there. Nothing beats the night sky in Rhode Island my friend!" Luz countered back with him in a friendly tone as I was slowing down in my walk and peering up at the nearest tree near me. Now I was curious as to what I was hearing off in the distance, almost like gunshots but bigger ones that we were used to. So I threw my strap over my one shoulder to have my rifle be against my back again, walking over to the tree and then seeing the others slow and watch me as I was now standing still and not moving.

"What's up, Kit?" Bull asked as I looked back over at him now over my shoulder.

"Cover me, will ya?" I asked, but jumping up to the nearest branch before he could answer me. I pulled myself up with ease, now standing on that one branch and then going up another limb as the others were walking over to watch me in the tree as I was getting higher and higher. Climbing in the trees was something I was used to at this point with all the training that I went through at Fort Benning, so my movement were more fluid and swift than they were when I first started some years ago.

"Kit! What the hell are you doing?" Luz asked in almost a hiss as I got to a good spot, standing near the trunk of the tree and then moving some of the leaves out of the way to get a clear view of what was ahead.

"Seeing where we are." I replied back to him as I looked with my sniper eyes. We were still in the middle of the forest, though the sky was still getting lighter with a smaller tint of light blue within the sky and the clouds rolling in. I could see some kind of farm-like place not too far away, along with some smoke.

"There's a farm up ahead, smoke's coming out of it." I explained to the men as I could hear a couple of gunshots coming from the area. I stood still, trying to figure out if they were gunshots coming from Americans or from the Germans. They sounded like American guns, but then again I could be wrong.

"You see any sign that it could be our boys?" Bull asked from the ground floor, but I shook my head as I could feel the cool morning wind coming through the area.

"Not from here I can't." I replied.

"Come down then, we can head over and see for ourselves." He called back up to me, having me nod in agreement and then look at the area once more. There had to be something going on over there that had nothing to do with civilians, American or German soldiers must be over there and taking over the area. I wanted to know who it was. So I started to get myself down from hopping onto every limb with ease, almost like it was some kind of game to it. Once I landed on the floor, I looked at the three boys and they looked back to see what I saw.

"Does it look like a German take over in that area?" Bull asked in wonder.

"Don't think so, though I won't completely believe it's the Americans." I explained to him.

"Let's just check it out. We're not that far off anyways." Luz said to the four of us, having me nod in agreement. We started to walk again, though I could feel the atmosphere between us was getting more dense and less light like how it was some time before when we were talking about what we missed when we were at home. But now we knew we had a mission and we had to be a position very soon.

But now we knew we had a mission and we had to be a position very soon.

* * *

When we approached the area where I found the smoke, it was a farm after all. Some of the soldiers were already there, American soldiers. I breathed out a sigh of relief only to know that we had mad it to a safe place and there was no threat, not yet at least. Once we got into the open courtyard of the farm house and area, we saw soldier walking around and talking to each other in heated and good tones, almost like this was some kind of meeting point before we would move out again. But it still didn't feel like that as we saw one soldier walk over to the four us while we were still looking all over the place to find some kind of sign that someone from Easy Company was here at the farm.

"What Company?" he asked, almost in a gruff tone.

"Easy." I replied back to him in more a authoritative manner. He was a bit taken back from how I answered him, like I was ready for action as Bull and Luz stood next to me and Doc a bit behind us since he was not one to talk to someone like this.

"We have a couple of Easy Company members here, came in about an hour ago," the soldier explained to me, "Orders are to stay here, no matter what your checkpoint location was. We are needed here with a upcoming assault with some of the Germans who are on the other side of the valley."

"So we're stuck here?" Luz asked him in more a serious manner.

"Until further notice, yes." He replied back to Luz. I looked back at the other boys, all whom looked a little grave about needing to stay here. Bull shifted with his big stature and he looked over right at me.

"I'll find the others in Easy." He explained to me, having me nod once as I looked back in front of me at the soldier.

"You know who's currently running this whole thing that I can talk to about delivering a message to London?" I asked him.

"Follow me this way." He said to me, walking away from me as I looked back over at the boys who were watching me now with both curious eyes and scared ones, since we stuck together for the past few hours and now we were separating again. I didn't want to be away from guys at this point, since they were the only ones from Easy that I found since we landed on the ground. This is why I hated being close to these guys, since now it was almost painful to just leave the guys behind since I considered these three my friends, as well as the other men in Easy.

"We'll find you." Bull reassured me, having me smile at him as I still walked away from them. Doc and Luz smiled as well, and I looked ahead of me again. I knew I still had a mission for Jacobs tog et him what he needed in order to win this war, but then again I was still finding myself drawn more to the men in Easy and how they were mere soldiers. I could feel and since the line was being drawn now in front of me: the line between Wolf and Easy Company. Where was I going to go when it came to this war? Who was I going to give my life to? It sounded so easy to play both side,s but one of these days it was going to get me i trouble.

It could get me killed.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Yay I got a chapter in on my mom's computer! Woohoo! I STILL have no laptop with my logic board going haywire! So soon, I hope, I get my laptop back good as new and more chapters coming. I hope to brainstorm while I'm waiting for my laptop! Please leave reviews! Love you all!


	12. Chapter 12

The ground shook beneath me as I walked out of the building that I was once in for a solid twenty minutes to get the papers out to Jacobs in England. Bombs were started to go off again as the morning came and the lightness overtook the small farm that we were at. I looked around me as more soldiers were coming in from the entry of the camp, all of them looking for their Company and wondering where their fellow company members were. After I dropped off the information, I went back out to find Luz, Bull and Doc whom I left once we entered the area. Were they okay? Did they find the others?

It was one thing to be told about the concept of war through all the training that I went through at Fort Benning, it was another thing to see it in action and to hear it ring in my ears. Everything was now feeling raw again as I could see the soldiers moving left and right through the small courtyard that was set up for us. At first, it got me a bit lost as to where to go and who to find in this mass chaos of a first day of the war. But it was suddenly all well again when I saw someone walking up to me in a rushed pace, having me see that it was Doc and I sighed in relief.

"Hey! Winters just came in with some of the other guys." Eugene explained to me in a sigh of relief and I sighed as well. it was a good thing to know that Winters was there in the area so we can turn to someone for some kind of help and guidance. With Sobel now out of the picture and no longer the leader of Easy, they needed someone to help guide them in this taste of war.

"Thank God, let's go find him," I said to Eugene, the both of us started to walk through the crowded courtyard of soldiers, having me look at the same time to see if I recognized from Easy, and for a long shot, anyone from Wolf Company that would be here.

"Anyone from Easy one through yet?" I asked Eugene as we were weaving our way through the crazy mass of men rushing around at a fast pace.

"Liebogtt and a couple others, along with Buck Compton," Eugene explained to me as we then made it to the other side of the courtyard, where I could see some of the Easy men and I smiled in relief. I could see Guarnene, Lipton, Toye, Bull, Luz, Compton, Talbert, Liebgott and Winters all talking together. I could feel a sense of relief coming over me, knowing that they were all okay and none of them looked too bad.

"Heya Kit! You're looking good for your first day at war." Toye said in almost a joking manner as I approached the men, seeing them all look at me and smiles not heir faces. There was almost a smile on Joe's face though I could tell he was trying to hide it from being exposed for all to see. I just smiled at the men, even giving Joe a d small one to show that I was glad he was okay.

"Not so bad of a landing after all, glad to see you boys made it," I commented back to him in a light manner, not wanting it to sound so bitter and grave given the circumstances. I looked past Toye to see both Winters and Buck talking together about something going on and what they were planning on doing in the war that was lying ahead.

"Not good. 90% of the men are still unaccounted for." Buck explained to Winters, having me listen in as Joe moved over to stand a bit close to me.

"Lt. Meehan?" Winters asked him as I shifted my rifle start against my back a bit to re-live some pressure there.

"No one's seen him or anyone from his plane. You know, if he is missing, wouldn't that put you in line to be the next commander of Easy?" Buck asked, having me see Winters pause before Joe finally spoke up from his spot right next to me.

"You land your jump okay?" He asked in his gruff of a tone though it sounded a bit warmer compared to other talks we have had in the past. I looked over at him, seeing his messy brown hair and the grease on his face. He was still showing his bitch face, but then again he must have had some kind of compassion for the ones that was in his Company. I knew he had a heart, but it was less exposed to show ti to those whom he didn't trust just yet. He didn't just me yet, and I didn't blame him.

"I did just fine. Nothing to worry about," I replied back to him, though he still looked intense enough as we stood side by side as another loud explosion happened off in the distance and we both looked with the rest of the men. There was a sense of silence now for a quick second there in the farmhouse and then more rushing around ensued. Something was coming, either that or something was getting bigger by the seconds. We had no idea how big of a battle this first one was going to be for the men of Easy, but I could tell Winters was trying to get us ready for whatever was laying ahead of us.

"What about you?" I asked Joe, turning my eyes to looked back at him and seeing him watch me carefully. He shrugged his shoulders.

"Not too bad." he grumbled back at me though it was a bit warmer now than it was when we first met at Fort Benning. I would hope that he would war up to me sometime in the near future, like the rest of the boys and how they were already making em feel right at home in their company and friendships. With Joe, I knew he was going to take a long time before he was willing to open up to someone like me.

"Kit, do me a favor would ya? Go back along the path there and go grab Malarky." Buck said to me as he walked over to with the look of determination on his face as Winters walked off to what was going to be the Commander's post in one of the smaller rooms of the farm.

"Sure thing, Buck. Where is he?" I asked him, looking from Winters over to Buck, seeing his piercing Blue eyes contrasting with the grease on his face and his short blond hair.

"He's along the road. Apparently he stopped for a chat there with one of the prisoners." He explained, having me chuckle in front of him.

"Of course he would,"I commented.

"So just get him for me, will ya. Winters is going to round up the men and give us the rundown on the battle ahead." Buck explained.

"Fine," I replied back, moving away from the group before I looked back over my shoulder at Roe who was looking at now in confusion since I was once again leaving his eyesight.

"I'll be right back." I said back to him, seeing him still look back at me with hesitance. I wondered why he did, but then again it all made sense. We grew close when we walked and talked together in the night on our way over here to find the others, finding a gentle sense of peace within one another though the rest of the world felt chaotic and unmoving. We both were slowly becoming our safety nets, though our tones of voices and our memories. Out of all the men in Easy, other than Shifty of course, Doc was becoming the closest to my heart. He merely nodded his head once, though I gave him a reassuring smile. So I turned on my heel and I started to walk out of the farm area again, though I could hear the others from Easy talking to each other again in hopes of what was to come.

"Don't worry, Doc," I heard Luz reassure Doc as I was walking along the dirt road with the focus back on the mission, "She's gonna come back. Kit can handle it." I had to give it to Luz: He knew how to make things lighter in already a screwed up situation. I had to believe him too when I was now going along the path into the countryside again.

I had to make it back.

* * *

Soldiers were still walking over in my direction, over to the farmhouse when I saw a cluster of soldiers against one of the smaller hills near the road, sitting and not moving a bit. They all looked huddled, but it was when I peered over at their uniforms I realized why: they were German soldiers. The must have been POW's, since I saw no weapons on them, and at least two American Soldiers standing over them with their rifles not aimed, but ready in front of their chests as I approached the scene. However, I saw Malarky talking to one of the Prisoners, who was speaking back in his English but with the German accent in it. I grinned from seeing the sight: Malarky could make a friend just about anywhere in the war, even with someone in the enemy group. But once I looked away from him, I saw someone who both gave me a chill down my spine and a look of confusion as to why he was there: Ronald Spiers.

What the hell?

"Oh, Kit! Come over here and meet this guy!" Malarky called out to me as he looked to see me standing there in the middle of the road in confusion, looking right at Spiers. Spiers finally looked over at me for hearing my name, and his had a small smirk on his face, as if he was waiting for me to join him there. But I was still confused, why in the hell was he there? Was he ordered to come over in this direction too? If he was there, then where was Beta?

"Lieutenant Kit, good to see you made your jump." Spiers said to me in a kind manner, like he would use before when we would talk, but his eyes shifted over to the German Soldiers who were all looking at me now with a bit of shock on their faces. Seeing a female soldier there would shake someone to their core, since it was not normal. But there I was, in my black attire with my rifle in hand and my short hair blowing in the wind.

"I should say the same for you." I replied in a surprised tone, walking over to him a bit and standing on the road, but facing him now, "You came alone?"

"No, some of my men are back at the farmhouse." He replied back to me.

"What about Beta?" I asked him, almost sounding a bit desperate in the question to him, since she was on my mind now and having me worried if she was okay.

"She's doing her own assignment right now. She made the jump, don't worry." Spiers reassured me as I shifted a bit in my stance out on the road. I still felt that uneasiness of not being able to trust him enough for his words, but then again all the times we talked together I had no sense of worry of what came out of his mouth. I was still peeved as to where Beta was since she was in his Company, and yet he made it sound like like nothing happened to her. Something _could _have happened to her and that made me feel a bit sick in my stomach. But I shook it off when Malarky walked over to me now, not even seeing Spiers there and I looked over to him.

"You ready?" He asked, having me nod and shift my eyes over to Spiers one more time. He was still staring at me, and it made me feel exposed again. Everytime he gave me that stare, whether it was when we talked or when we would stand close by, it made me feel like he was trying to read everything about me with just his eyes. I was both intrigued by it, and hating it at the same time.

"Come on, I think Perconte's mad at me for flirting with the enemy." Malarky nudged me with his shoulder and it made me tear my eyes away from Spiers once more. We started to walk along the road again, though we took at least ten steps together when we hard gunfire right behind us. Both Malarky and I whirled around, seeing the sight in front of us and having me loose my breath for a solid few seconds and Malarky's face going pale. All of the German POW's, including the one Malarky was just talking to like an old friend, were killed in front of us by one machine gun. And who happened to be holding the gun, thank Spiers himself.

"Holy shit." Malarky ghosted out with his lips as the gun stopped shooting and silence was once again in the area of the forest. The bodies were all slumped over each other like puppets with no one controlling them, and I saw Spiers looking at the bodies with so much nonchalance that it was making me angry. This was not right, not in the slightest as I then felt the anger coming over me like a freight train.

"What in the hell was that?" I asked Spiers in a challenging tone as I walked back over to him now, seeing him look at me with a hint of surprise on his face on how I approached him with no fear. Malarky was right behind me, still not talking and having me think that he was in shock from what he saw.

"Wait, Kit don't—" Malarky warned me, but I didn't listen.

"What do you think you were doing?" I asked Spiers once more, not understanding why he killed all those men without a second thought or a bat of his eyelashes.

"They were German soldiers, I did what I had to do." He cool replied, though his voice sounded nonchalant about it.

"They were surrendered soldiers who showed no hostility towards you." I corrected him, the edge was now back in my tone, "Why did you do that?"

"We're in a war, we're supposed to take out the enemy and I did just that." Spiers replied, though now I could see he felt a bit challenge by me as Malarky was standing right behind me now.

"They were no longer the enemy." I retorted back to him.

"What makes you say that?" He asked now, shifting in more a defensive stance with me as he was now walking down the hill and standing in my line of sight to somewhat tower over me.

"The had no weapon on them, Lieutenant Spiers. If they had a weapon, then they would still be hostile soldiers that could be a threat. However, since you took those weapons from them, they were technically Prisoner's Of War. That means that they are protected, by law, by us until they are released and sent back to their own line." I explained in a bolder tone, feeling more like the 1st lieutenant that I was than anything else, "Without their weapons and their rights of soldiers that we took from them, they were civilians practically. So you shot and killed German civilians without a second glance."

There was nothing to be heard in that small area, no one spoke a single word as both Spiers and I were looking at each other with both intriguing and deadly glares. I was angry with him for doing such a thing, and not thinking about it. To me, they were civilians since they had no weapons and no power to kill us, and that was just the tip of the iceberg with this whole shithole of a situation.

"I wonder, Lieutenant Kit, who are you to tell me who to shoot and not shoot, when you are in fact a trained killer." Spiers challenged me, having me tear Malarky intake a breath behind me and I eyed him suspiciously. He was trying to throw another argument with me being a sniper and an assassin, as if that had anything to do with the situation that just happened with him killing the soldiers there. If there was one thing that I hated, ever since coming to the army, was my own title and how people were trying to defy it in some manner.

"Do not compare my own duties on how I handle myself in war to how you compose yourself against those who are innocent, Lieutenant." I warned him, though my composure was stills ten and rigid in front of him. It didn't matter anymore that i was talking to him such a manner that it looked crazy and demanding, it mattered that he was trying to make me look like a bad person compared to him and how he handled war and who was in his line of fire. Malarky gently grabbed my jacket from behind me, seeing that I was so close to snapping at the Lieutenant, but I kept my eyes still on Spiers who was reading my eyes now with no trace of anger or hate now, but with a small trace of confusion and wonder behind it now.

"Come on, Kit. Let's find Easy." Malarky urged me now with a small tone, having me finally look away from Spiers now and walk away with Malarky and no longer want to be filled with anger again. I had to rethink how I was going to compose myself in front of the men because I was representing Wolf Company now. I didn't want to be seen as a bitch, and Spiers was not going to do that to me. I twas still wrong with what he did to those men since they had no weapon and they had no reason to be killed in that moment. He was not going to make me feel worse since what I knew I was doing was different from what he did.

"You okay?" Malarky asked me in a small tone, almost like he was afraid to just talk to me in that moment since I still looked a bit heated from challenging to Spiers in such a manner. I just breathed out once more through my nose and out though my mouth to make sure I was going to get back int my mind of being a assassin again. It somewhat hurt me that Spiers would do something like that, yet I hardly knew him so I wonder why it affected me so much to the point of wanting me to hate him. But I didn't want to hate him, I never wanted that in the first place.

"I'll be fine." I replied back to him. I had to be, I had something to do with Easy, not with Dog Company.

And not with Ronald fucking Spiers.

* * *

"The 88's we've been hearing have been spotted in a field down the road a ways. Maj. Strayer wants us to take them out. There are two guns that we know of, firing on Utah Beach. Plan on a third and fourth here and here…" We watched as Winters was pointing out on the map what we were going to do. The remaining Easy Company members, other than Eugene and Spina the medics, were watching him as he was giving us the rundown on how this was going to play out, and I was standing near Toye with my rifle against my chest and I was listening in.

"The Germans are in the trenches with access to the entire battery. With a machine gun covering their rear. We'll establish a base of fire and move under it hard and fast with two squads of three." Winters went on with the plan.

"How many Krauts do you think we're facing?" Guarnene asked him.

"No idea." Was his answer.

"No idea?" He asked back.

"We'll take some TNT along with us. To spike the gun. Lipton, your responsibility." Winters said over to Lipton, whom nodded in agreement.

"Yes, sir." He answered back to Winters.

"Liebogtt, you'll take the first machine gun, with Petty A-gunner. Alesha, Hendrix, you take the other. Who does that leave?" Winters asked, a group of us raising our hands and him scanning the each of us.

"Compton, Malarky, Kit, Toye, Guanine. Okay. We'll be making the main assault, understood?" He asked us.

"Yes, sir." We replied back to him. Winters then looked over at me now with the look of a leader on his face.

"Kit, I want you to be on your guard and make sure nothing happens with our machine guns. You take out any Germans who are posting at us, we need those guns. Understand?" He asked me with his authoritative tone. I nodded once, seeing some of the men looking over at me.

"Yes, sir." I replied back, shifting my eyes over to Joe whom was staring at me with the same intense stare that he would use on me all the time. This must have been great with him, hearing that a young woman was going to protect him from being shot from the Germans. Did this hurt his ego a bit? He just looked away, no longer giving me a hate look.

"All right, let's pack it up, boys!" Lipton said the group of us and the Easy men started to get things ready with their weapons.

"Lipton, when you see we've captured the first gun, I want you and your TNT as fast as possible." Winters explained to Lipton as I was looking down at the rifle and prepping it near the other officers while the others in Easy were already walking away from us.

"Yes, sir." Lipton answered him.

"Okay, just weapons and aammo, drop everything else. Got any are ammo in a pack or a musette bag, bring it along." Winters infrared him some more.

"Lieutenant, sir? I was wondering, sir, you need an extra hand?" Someone asked Winters as I looked up and over at the other boys who were getting prepped. I walked over to them now since Winters was done with me in that moment.

"Come on Kit, Let's see that rifle in action." Toye said to me in an enthusiastic manner as I grinned at him, throwing my rifle over my shoulder to have it hang on my back and no longer in front of me. This was officially the start of the war for me: going into battle with the heat of the moment going on in my brain.

* * *

Things were quiet, at least at first they were. The rolling green hills and all of us huddling together with the plan from Winters. I knew what I was supposed to do, since Winters practically wanted me to just protect the machine guns from being taken over by the Germans that were on the other side of the rolling hills. This was the calm before the storm, I could feel it underneath my own skin and it was ringing over and over again in my brain. This was what I was training for, and it was all starting here within the small huddle I had with the others in the battle.

"Kit, get ready to move." Winters said to me as he was in the front with the men behind him. Some of the men started to spread out with their own positions at the ready. I was only holding my rifle in once hand and I was squatting down near the floor, one hand on the ground to feel out the vibrations of the gunfire that was closeby as I looked over at Winters once again to hear him give me the signal to move out. I had to think of a route through this mass chaos as gunfire started to happen.

"Go, now!" Winters hissed at me as I bolted up from my spot and along the running ditch that was already made. Gunfire was already in the air, but I was fast enough so that they weren't going to touch me. I threw my rifle back over my shoulder again so I can run faster, though this was going to be a bit harder if I found someone who got in my way as I bolted now along the ditch. More gunfire was coming through, both from the Germans and from our guys.

"Grenade! Joe! Toye! Roll out, roll out!" Winters yelled behind me as I looked behind me. A explosion went off, having me fear that someone got hurt, but then when the dust cleared I saw that no one got hurt and they were safe. I wanted to breath out a sigh of relief, but it was short lived when more gunfire was coming through in my direction. Ducking, I ran once again, remembering that I was on my own mission here.

Once I was turning the corner, I saw a German soldier already there about to shoot at me, close enough for his rifle to touch me. I ducked from the gunshot, hearing it go over my head as I rammed into the soldier, knocking him to the floor and punching him out cold in one punch before I grabbed his rifle from him. Another German soldier was coming, having me throw up the rifle and shot once, seeing him fall to the floor and backwards, almost hitting one of the other soldiers who was right behind him. I grabbed my reloaded bullets in the carrier that was on my hips, throwing it out at the soldier to hit him in the head and seeing him stagger back a bit while I was running at him. I jumped up, almost towering over him in midflight with my hand already making a fist and then landing on him, my fist connecting with his face and he was out within seconds.

So far so good.

I ran some more, hearing the gunfire no longer near me since I was too far down in the ditch and the running area for someone to see me as I heard other Americans behind me running right behind me to keep up. I was just trying to get to the other side with the others from Easy to get our hands on the machine gun. While I was running I grabbed my riffle back from over my shoulder to cock it and get ir ready for any kind of shooting that would be coming. Once we were about to turn the other curve, I stopped and held my hand up in the air for the others behind me to stop as well. I got over to the edge where the grass was, propping my rifle over the top and having me look through the scope to get a better view.

I could see in the smaller area where the machine gun was hiding, under a make shift hiding place and then seeing some of the German Soldiers already there, shooting away at someone else in the other direction. I shifted a bit against the dirt wall, blinking once before I breathed out and started to take one shot at a time to the Germans that were hiding.

"Jesus Kit." I heard behind me as I kept taking shot after shot. I had intervals in between the shots then, waiting for more gunfire from the distance before I would shoot again and see another German fall. I never missed in those seconds, seeing them fall off one by one like they were bigs being flicked off with fingers from giant humans. Once the last one fell, I turned my head slightly to see the other men waiting behind me.

"Go, now!" I ordered them seeing them move away and past me as they ran over to the machine gun. I stayed in that spot and waited in case someone was going to come back at them. As the Easy men were running past me over to the machine gun, I was looking over to see where the other German where and if they were going to be a threat to us. The whole place was noisy with gunfires, shouting in both German and English, and smoke was rising in the air like a smog kind of way, I kept looking, now seeing our guys taking over the machine gun and shooting at the Germans.

One down, one to go.

But someone was running out on the field, almost in a staggered kind of way. I looked over with my eyes, not moving my rifle before I saw who it was, making me panic within seconds. Malarky. Malarky was running out in the field like a chicken with its had cut off and not knowing where to do. He almost looked like he was flailing around. I looked over to see some of our men with one of our machine guns, watching him run over to one of the deda bodies of the German soldiers and getting some gunfire right at him. So I bolted back over to them, seeing Joe at the machine gun along with Guarnene being there and someone else named Petty.

"Now you stop firing? Beautiful!" Liebgott said over the gunfire and in a groan as I joined them and Aimed my rifle at some of the Germans who were about to shoot at him. I aimed and fired as the others were yelling at Malarky to get back to us. But he looked frozen out there as I shot some more, not loosing him in my sight and not wanting him to get hurt.

"Christ, they must think he's a medic or something!" Petty said in almost a gasp from near Guarnene and Joe.

"He's gonna need a goddamn medic!" Guarnene yelled back at Petty as I shot at one more German who was about to get Malarky in the chest.

"Malarky, stay low! What in the hell is he doing?!" Joe yelled in anger as I looked up from my rifle to see him fish though the dead body of the German Soldier for something. What was he looking for? I had no clue, but I wanted him out of there. He was running back now, bullets flying behind him now as he was getting back to safety. Once he was back and safe with the rest of the men, I reloaded my rifle and looked back at Guarnene.

"Come on! Forgot your friggin Luger? Want I should go get it for you? Stupid mick!" He said in a grumble to Malarky.

"Where are the rest of the guys?" I asked him over the gunfire, though he shrugged his shoulders.

"Fuck if I know." He replied back to me, though I just wanted to smile from the mere thrill of what was going on though me. Something about being in the middle of this war made me feel alive, almost like a adrenaline rush that was seeping through me like a freight train and I wanted to find some way to explained it. Once my rifle was ready to go, I moved away from the group of them over to the next machine gun that needed a takeover. While I was running along the ditch, I could hear more gunfire coming around me and the dirt flying on and across my face in such a way that I was almost blinded. But once again I threw my rifle back over my shoulder once more to grab some more knives from my waist. I knew there were going to be soldiers coming my way, and I had to be ready for it. And I was, when two of them were running over and about to shoot at my.

I threw out one knife, seeing it land and stab one of the soldiers in the neck and he cried out, falling to the floor and shooting his gun as I threw the other knife out at the other soldier, in which the ke nife landed in his hand and he screamed out in pain. Once the first soldier was already dead, I grabbed the knife that was in his neck and pulled it out in once yank, then slashing the other soldier within another second and seeing him crumble to the floor. I had to freeze after I did that, breathing in deeply and then looking up and around me. I could feel my arms were about to shake, my eyes were alert and clear, and my brain was rushing at about 100 miles per hour.

I just survived my first battle in the war. Holy Shit.


	13. Chapter 13

Night overcame us in a flash, the day was long done after our first battle on that hill. After we succeeded in capturing the machine guns, we had a victory on our hands. It was a matter of where we were going to go next and who was going to take us there. I recall walking back slowly with my rifle once again on my back, a bit worn out from the battle at hand and trying to get the blood off my knives that I used on the two Germans. I should be happy that we won.

But my head was still spinning.

This was my first real taste and experience of war. I didn't have anyone else from Wolf Company to help me, though I had several Easy Company men around me to both fight with me and listen to my orders when I would tell them to duck or run after the gun. It was a solid victory for us, and now we were just waiting and trying to recover from that day.

We were back in a small town again, the gravel and paved road underneath my feet and boots as I walked with Buck and Guarnene, along with Malarky and Joe. They were heading over to one of the jeeps, thinking that they could make food there and not be seen by anyone else in the dead of the night. I wasn't hungry myself, but I also didn't feel like sulking by myself. It was never right to be alone wit your own thoughts, since your own thoughts could turn against you real quickly when it came to chaos and war.

"Come on, we can make some food and quit bitching," Guarnene said to us as we reached the jeep that we were going to sit in. They were about to pop into the jeep when someone approached us, all of us halting and seeing that it was the last person that I wanted to see and it made me somewhat grimace in my face from just watching him there: Spiers.

"Lieutenant Kit." He said aloud, all of the Easy Men were frozen and their eyes shifted slowly from him over to me. I watched Spiers though, thinking that I was going to get some kind of scolding from him, but from the look on his face, that was not going to be the case at all.

"May I have a word with you in private, please?" He asked in a war tone, no longer sounded a bit cool or brash like he was sounding before. The eyes of the Easy men were going wide a bit from the notion that Spiers wanted to talk to me, alone. After a second of processing the very same thought in my own head, I nodded my head and he grinned, that same smirk that would make a girl both swoon and be afraid. He walked away, having me look away from human and see the Easy men look at me now in confusion.

"What?" I asked since it was still a shocker to me, but why should that be shocked.

"What in the hell was that?" Malarky asked in shock.

"Yeah, why does he wanna talk to you?" Joe asked me in confusion.

"I have no clue," I replied back with a shrug of my shoulders, "Just save me some grub, will ya?"

"I'll save you a cup! Come on, get inside before we get yelled at." Buck said to me and then the rest of the guys, having me see them all disappear under the flap of the jeep cover, one by one. I walked away from them, following the dark figure silhouette that was Spiers until we reached a secluded area where no one was around. I stood behind him as he turned around to face me, his hands were behind his back and he was looking rather composed of himself.

"I wanted to talk to you in private because I wish to apologize for my behavior earlier today." He said in such a smooth manner, it like he rehearsed it over and order in his head before he got the nerve to tell me face to face. I folded my own hands in front of me, giving him a small nod to show that I was listening.

"Thank you." I replied back, almost hesitantly and he saw it in my stance towards him and in my tone, "Though I'm wondering…why would you apologize?"

"I felt terrible in how I acted, and with what I said about you." He answered his voice sounded a bit warmer then.

"Even though it was technically true," I added, trying to avoid having this conversation altogether.

"No matter, it was still not right for me to say that to you, and I am sorry for that." He apologized again, and I just waved him off.

"It's fine, Lieutenant Spiers. I really don't think the name calling is going to affect me to the point of crying." I said in a joking tone though he smiled from how I said it and I grinned back too.

"You know, if you want to, you can call me by my first name." He suggested in almost a hint. I paused, not really thinking about it since I would namely call people by their last if I was just on good terms with them. He wanted me to call him by his first, which was surprising since it was coming from him.

"Okay..Ronald.." I trailed off since it didn't sound right at all. He grinned since it sounded so foreign on my lips.

"Just call me Ron. I prefer that over Ronald anyway." He explained, having me nod my head. This was something I wouldn't expect coming from an officer like him, like Ron. That was something I had to get used to, calling him Ron instead of Spiers.

"That suits you better I think." I explained to him in my warmer manner then, almost like I was talking to a friend more than another officer in the war. The smirk was back on his face again as if I sent off something warm beneath him and he was reacting in such a way towards me.

"I heard you did a good amount of good today during the battle," Ron said to me in more of a casual manner, having me raise my eyebrow at him now in wonder as to how he knew that.

"Really? Who told you?" I asked him in wonder though he shrugged his shoulders.

"Words get around here pretty fast, and you were the hot topic apparently in how you defended the boys in Easy and got those machine guns in our possession." He explained from his spot in front of me on the paved road.

"I would hope they were good words, though. Last thing I need is a tainted reputation amongst the men here in Easy since I am the only female in their company." I explained back to him as almost a counter argument. But Ron shook his head.

"I doubt that, Kit. I think the men in Easy are beyond glad they have you with them." Ron complimented me though it made me feel almost too warm inside. No man has talked to me like that before, not even Gerald. With Gerald, it almost seemed rehearsed, like he has done that before. But with Ron, in how he was watching me with his bright yet intense eyes and with his head tilted slightly towards me, this was raw and real. So why was the coiling sensation in the pit of my stomach and it was making it wish that I was not looking like an idiot in front of him? What was wrong with me? Why was I liked this with him since we were in the middle of a war and I was beyond dirty and not even close to being feminine for him to look at me in such a manner. But there he was, looking at me like that.

"Kit!" I looked behind me and I could see Doc walking over to me, seeing me talk to Ron and then stopping his tracks. This must have been a sight for him, seeing one of his now good friends talking to the mysterious lieutenant that no one had the courage or the balls to talk to on a regular basis. But I looked back at Ron and I smiled at him slightly.

"I'll talk to you later, Ron. Keep an eye on Beta for me, will you?" I asked him, walking backwards so I could keep my eyes on him for a bit more. This was something that I was taught never to do as a child and young teenager, with my mother breathing down my back on how I should speak and what I should do in front of boy. But now it was different, I was no afraid to be bold for once in my life, in front of a man. I wasn't going to be too bold, since the few was still there for me to be too close to someone, but then again I knew where I was going to draw the line.

"I look forward to it, Kit." He replied back to me, though I turned around and walked away from him after he said that to me. For some reason, I was smiling, but it was the smile that I would only use on the boys whom captured me and made me want to get to know them more. The smile that would show that signified that all was well in my world, no matter where I was and what I was doing. Why was he that charming, oh god was that even the word to use on him then? I wished it wasn't, but as I joined Doc over on the other side of the private area, I looked over one last time to see if he was there. He was walking away, a small pep in his step as his back was to me.

"The guys were asking for you." Doc explained to me calmly with his accent, though I could hear the confusion on his face as I looked back over to see his face. He looked a bit worn from the battle too, though his face was knit with confusion as to why I was talking to the guy in the first place.

"What?" I asked him, since I was coming back to the notion of reality myself. It was still surreal that we had a nice talk together, and it almost sounded like he was trying to flirt with me but he wasn't letting it get that close then. Doc just shook his head, almost like he was trying ti hide it on his face.

"Nothin'. Come on." He replied, motioning with his head over to where the jeeps were. I followed him, moving my short hair from my eyes, feeling he coolness touch my forehead and skin as we walked together side by side

"I take it you had a good first day of battle?" I asked Doc, trying to make conversation with the guy and he nodded his head, though I could see the look on his face that something else was occupying his mind.

"Yeah, yeah it was good." He replied back, having me watch him now in worry as he was look dead ahead, though I could see that he was being haunting by something else.

"You okay, Doc?" I asked him tentatively as we walked some more, seeing other soldiers and jeeps go by us now. At first, he said nothing, just walking along with his hands in his pockets and his face still looking stern. But it was what he said next that almost made me loose my footing.

"You need to be careful when you talk to him." He waned me carefully, but it sounded like he was trying so hard not to make it sound like he was being mean about it.

"What are you talking about?" I asked, not getting where he was coming from.

"Look, the guys have heard plenty about that guy and how he's not the greatest to be friends with, sine he's a bit of a hothead when it comes to being a lieutenant." Doc explained to me cooly, though I then paled my hand on his arm for the both of us to stop walking and face each other. I had no clue why he was warning me myself, not before I saw the look on his face. It was the same look that my brothers would give me once in awhile when I would talk to a new guy my mother would try to set me up with; concern and a lace of protection there. Doc was trying to protect me, along with the rest of the men in Easy apparently. It made me sigh since it was clear all over his face and how he was looking at me.

"I can handle myself with someone like him, trust me." I reassured him smoothly, seeing him search my eyes to make sure that I was telling the truth. I smiled at him, wanting to drop the subject already since it felt award that I was already getting the protecting vibe from the guys of Easy.

"We know you can," Eugene tried to start with me, but I shook my head.

"It's fine, Doc." I reaffirmed him again, seeing him watch me as I made sure I was showing him with my eyes that what was going on was okay. Ronald Spiers was no where close to being on my radar when it came to something like _that_. Hell, I wished that no guy would ever be on my radar for now on because of what happened in my past. Doc just gave me a small smile then, seeing how stubborn I was when it came to something like this.

"Come on, I'm hungry and I need to sit down after shooting all day." I urged him softly, seeing him nod in agreement as we were talking again. I wanted to talk about something else, anything else, and ti seemed like Doc wanted to do the same thing too. I could see how awkward this felt between us since he was trying to give the somewhat big brother speech

"Tell me about yourself," I said to him in a hopeful manner, wanting to have the subject be a bit lighter, "Something that you haven't told me yet."

"What do ya wanna know?" He asked me in almost a sheepish tone, though I grinned from how he spoke in such a manner that it was timid, yet bold at the same time.

"I don't know…..let me think," I said to him in such a light way that I heard him chuckle slightly next to me, "Tell me about your family."

"There's nothing real special about being an only child with two religious parents." Eugene countered back with me with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Lucky for you being the only child." I added back, seeing him eye me.

"You wish you were an only child?" He asked me with a hint of amusement in his voice. I chuckled this time, the smile was evident on my face.

"Being the only daughter with three older brothers can wear you down after awhile, believe me." I explained, seeing his grin getting bigger as we were approaching the vehicle where our men were.

"I could only imagine." Doc added to that, the both of us smirking from the mere conversation that we were having.

"You never wanted to have brothers or sisters?" I asked him un curiosity as we could hear the me inside the vehicle and how they were laughing about the conversation hey were having.

"At first I did, but I have enough cousins to keep me occupied." Doc replied back to me, having me smiled widely.

"How many?" I questioned.

"Too many, but it makes Christmases and Easter get togethers more fun." Doc joked with me, though before I could even say anything else we heard a commotion coming out of the vehicle, the flap opening and someone hopping out in such a manner that we both looked over to see who it was coming out in such a harsh way.

"Jesus! Get me outta here!" None other than Joe Liebogtt hopping out of the same vehicle I was about to go into when I was intercepted by Ron. Doc and I watched as he landed on the ground and shrugged in his jacket to get it rearranged on his chest.

"What happened?" I asked him, since he clearly looked off and pissed.

"Malarky's dead ass, that's what happened." Joe gruffed back at me, digging out one of his cigarettes and placing the stick in-between his teeth. He then was patting his jacket pockets for what I would think would be his lighter, but I be a him to it when I fished out my own lighter from my pocket. I remembered the lighter that I got from my Uncle, the same lighter that they didn't take from me when I went into basic training. Joe eyed me as I flicked the flame on, though I grinned at him and no longer wanting to be hostile to him. Not anymore, it wasn't worth it when we were fighting a common enemy.

"You wanna light?" I asked him casually as he eyed the lighter in my hand now with skepticism written all over his face. Was he convinced that I was out to get him? He then slowly leaned over to have the stick that was still between his teeth touch the flame, inhaling and then leaning back to exhale. The smoke was slowly drifting into the cool night sky as I watched him close his eyes in relief and in peace for once all day.

"I'm going to find Spina." Doc said to me, having me smile at him and he waved goodbye to me and walked off. At first I wanted him to stay there with me, since there would be someone there that was neutral for Joe and I to look at with this upcoming conversation. But he must have sensed the small amount of awkwardness there, so he holed when he got the chance. Hell, if I was Doc, I would have done the same thing too.

"I should be givin' you a cigarette in return, should I?" He asked in a hint of amusement, I shrugged in return.

"I wouldn't mind one." I replied back, seeing a small smile back on his face before he fished out another stick for me to have. Once he gave it to me, inhaling his own once again, I lit it and snapped the lid of the lighter closed before I inhaled. I never really smoked on the regular, not until I got in the army and all I did was smoke. Sure I knew it was going to kill me later in life, but I was already a assassin in the middle of the war and death was already on my doorstep everything I held a gun in my hand.

"Never took you as a smoker." He commented to me in his low voice as I exhaled though my nostrils.

"Nor did my mother. Almost gave her a heart attack when she caught me once," I explained to him casually as we both were smoking then outside the vehicle, though I could see someone from the corner of my eye walking over to peep his head back under the flap and talk to the men. I knew that voice: Winters.

"Seeing her perfect daughter smokin' would do it." Joe commented back to me, almost as if he was trying to hit below the belt though I smirked from the attempt.

"So I'm taking that your own mother was thrilled that you took up the habit?" I countered back to him, seeing him pause and look over at me. I could tell he was the kind of guy that was trying to be better that comebacks and snide remarks, he knew he had his own pride on the line. So when I would bring it back and challenge it, I wonder if he was going to be either insulted or intrigued by it. Did he even meet girl like he before? I doubt that he has, not was he ready to meet someone like me.

"Point taken." He replied back to me in a short manner, but it wasn't cruel. I smiled, inhale once more and then breathing out though my lips pressed together. We were quiet there, standing somewhat close together for a solid moment or two before one of us spoke again.

"I saw what you did out there in the battle." Joe commented to me, almost like a statement more than anything as I eyed him, seeing him cooly smoke with this cigarette between his fingers and standing like he was some street corner somewhere away from here, like he was having a casual conversation.

"You did?" I asked him, inhaling my own stick and seeing him eye me with his brown orbs and then seeing him shove his short brown wavy hair away from his eyes.

"Kind of rings some questions off in a person's head when they see you do somethin' like that." He added some more, now my stance was going a big rigid again, He was trying to steer our talk together towards a path that could be deadly.

"What kind of questions?" I asked him, trying to be more causal about the situation and how he was analyzing me, once again, with his eyes and making me feel like he wanted to expose me beyond words.

"Eh, I shouldn't ruffle your feathers a bit with what I have to say." He commented, though I shrugged my shoulders.

"It sounds like you're trying to scare me." I replied, seeing him give me a somewhat stern stare.

"Just trying to figure out why you're here in the war is all." Joe smoothly said back to me.

"As if you don't want me here." I voiced in return. I honestly didn't see why he would want to talk about this right now, when I was already in the war with him and Easy and I was already taking some hits and some ledger on my sleeve when it came to being an assassin. Joe, on the other hand, was still convinced that either I didn't belong here, or I had some other motive to this whole situation that we were in. Just then the boys in the vehicle were laughing as I looked over to see Winters walk off, a small smile on his face and then hearing someone else inside the vehicle voice up.

"Where's Kit? I thought she could be back by now." Malarky voiced out.

"Well, if she ain't coming back within five minutes I'm eating her food." Guarnene grumbled and I looked back at Joe.

"Excuse me." I said to him, flicking the cigarette out with my fingers and then seeing it hit the floor before I walked away from him over to the back of the vehicle where the flap was.

"Thanks for the light." Joe grumbled back to me as I walked away from him. He was getting under my skin the wrong way, making me really not want to be in his company with how he was treating me like I was some kind of criminal and I had another motive that was not in his favor. I found him to be stubborn, almost like my eldest brother whom never wanted someone to size him up with his own pride and make him feel less of a man that he was.

Once I opened the flap, I peered inside to see the group of the men there, huddle around the small flame that they had with the food cooking and some of them already eating their dinner. I grinned, seeing them all look right back at me.

"Where were you?" Buck asked me as he held out his hand for me to take to help me in. I crawled in, going over the small door there and feeling the small smoothen of warmth that the vehicle had to offer thanks to the flame and the bodies there inside the covering. I stay down next to Buck and across from Guarnene, whom handed me my tin of food. I wanted to be cheerful with those guys, but already I was mentally tired from all that happened with whom I talked to. Ron was making me feel bit confused as to why he spoke me in a way that he was interested in what I had to say, and then Joe on the other side of the spectrum trying to make me feel less of an individual in how he looked at me and how he carried himself as a superior being,

"You okay there, Kit?" Guarnene asked me, though his voice was once again gruff with his accent hanging in the air. I smiled at him, not wanting to talk about since the last thing these guys wanted to do with me was having a talking session with a girl. Hell no.

"I'm fine." I replied to him, digging into my food and hearing the rest of the conversation going on around me.

I fooled them again.

* * *

I had another nightmare again, and this time it felt so real that I almost screamed when I woke up. I recalled feeling his hands on my arms, pushing me down against the floor and then seeing his eyes right me, glossy and glazed over with alcohol and the power driven force of his mind as he raped me again in my nightmare. But as soon as he was about to, I woke up shooting up from my spot against one of the walls of a abandoned building that we took shelter in for the night. It made me want to bot cry and scream and erase my memory, all of it. Why was this still affecting me after a couple of years and all that I went through to get it out of my head. It didn't even matter anymore that I was a assassin in the war and giving off some kind of vibes of being dead amongst the men of Easy Company, I now felt more like a coward.

A coward of my own nightmares.

I had to walk around, I had to breath and get my mind back at ease again. So I got up from my area, though some of the other men were asleep in other rooms and I was requested to have my own because of the clear notion that I was a female. I created out of my room without making a sound, thankfully learning how to walk around without any noise to give me away from all the training that I had with Wolf Company as I walked out from the building and hid within the darkness in the night, no wanting to be out in plain sight. I leaned against the brick wall that was there, closing my eyes and trying to collect my thoughts again.

For some reason, I thought being in the army was going to be an escape from my own thoughts and my demons. But it was coming back to me ten fold. I had to remind myself that no matter how far I ran from my home, no matter how many times I had a brave face on, I had to realize that I could only take so much until I knew I was going to break. But how could that be so when I was trained by Captain Jacobs never to break? Never to shed a tear or to show weakness in the line of defeat or pain. This was a different kind of pain though, the kind that no one ever wants to expose for all to see. This was why I never wanted to be close to anyone else for the rest of my life, who knew what they were going to think of me if they saw me then. I was leaning against the wall, hands on my knees and my head bowed to breathe in and out, what a sight that would be. And this was only the beginning of the war, not the middle or the end.

When was this going to stop?

_Calm down, he's not here. You're better than this_. I reminded myself in my head over and over again. Hell, I was on the other side of the world, away from him and his pompous lifestyle. He was probably drinking another stiff drink and flirting with another skirt that was walking by, as I was trying to pick up the pieces of my life and my distrust in men and move on in the war. Maybe one day I would see him again, he would see what I did in the war and see how I have changed. That even though I had nightmares to keep me up at night and flashes of images in my brain to have me lose my breath, I was still a trained killer and I could take him out within one second as soon as he would give me one look of disgust. It made me smile, in a sick way. I could kill him, I could. But then again, I was trying to find myself again.

I looked up at the sky above me, seeing some stars there and wondering what Seattle looked like within that moment. My father popped into my head, having me wonder how he was doing and if he was worried about me. Of course he would be, I was his only daughter fighting in the war and being a killer for the hell of it. I wished to see him again in the future, but who knows when that was going to be. But suddenly Ron's face was in my mind, the handsome face that was laced with both authority and mystery. He was both infuriating to talk to and intriguing to get to know.

So why did I feel like a giggling school girl when I thought of him then?

* * *

**Author's Note:** I'm back! Woohoo! I got a new laptop so now I can write on the regular again. Now my new mission is to find a link that can get me the episodes for Band of Brothers so I can get it right and authentic! Let me know if you know of a sight that I can watch the series for free! As always, leave a review and let me know how I am doing! thanks!


	14. Chapter 14

"Well, shit." I said out loud from my spot, reading the recent letter from Captain Jacobs with my new task attached to it. The early afternoon that came to us brought me a sense of peace that I needed since I was getting more and more nightmares coming to and from my brain. I hated the night at that point, though it was safer for us in the sense of the war. But now I hated it since I was going back to that place within my memory that I wished I would never go back to. How was I even going to go through this war with those images and the voice going into my head, _his _voice. I hated his voice, and to be able to hear it in the dead of night. But now we were waiting to move out the next morning for the next objective from the head of our company. We were just trying to wait and relax into the night before we would have to fight again. As for me, I was leaning against one of the brick walls to one of the buildings and trying to keep awake but feel the fatigue hit me hard like a ton of bricks.

"Heya Kit." I looked up to see Bull walking over to me, having me smile at him and give him a tired smile. I needed sleep, but then again I was afraid to go asleep at this point since the others in Easy were comfortable and tired enough to sleep away into the night. Bull eyed me as I folded the letter and shoved it into my jacket pocket.

"You okay?" He asked me as I ruffled my short hair.

"I'm tired." I replied back to him and he squatted down to look right at me. For some reason, he was the one person in Easy, other than Shifty and Roe, that I was the most comfortable to be around and to be easy with. The others were just as kind, but I had no real connection of safety as I did with those three men. It was odd, the three of those men reminded me of my three brothers with their own personalities and ways to talking and walking around.

"You didn't sleep?" He asked me, almost sounding a bit concerned with the thick Arkansas Accent that was there. I shook my head, rubbing my eyes and feel the tiredness and the soreness there within the motions of my eyes rubbing there along my skin.

"I can't sleep." I explained to him plainly, since I was trying to find some kind of way to tell him that I was getting nightmares without going into real detail. He eyed me, though the others around me were just realizing in their spots in the middle of the square and just talking to each other.

"Why can't ya?" He pondered with me, though I could tell that I had no ounce of fight left in me to argue with him.

"Nightmares." I said back to him cooly, since it was so bitter to be on my tongue to tell him something like this. Hell, it was odd for me to say such a thing to someone whom I was supposed to just talk to and work with. But then again, Bull was kind enough for me to understand, in a sense, where I was coming from. He looked up and away from me, analyzing the area around us and then back over at me.

"Come on." He said to me, getting up from his position and then looking down at me. I raised an eyebrow to him.

"What?" I asked him, not getting where he was going with this.

"You need to sleep, I can tell since you're practically going to fall asleep here against the wall." Bull explained to me in a rough but caring manner, pointing to the brick wall I was against as I looked as well. It sound so great to be able to sleep, but I was still afraid to just close my eyes and be at peace for once in this whole time of war.

"I'll be okay." I tried to reason with him, but he shook his head.

"Like hell you will. Come on, get some shut eye before anything big happens." He gave me a somewhat calming order, since I could see the level of seriousness in his eyes as he told me this, "We all need to sleep, and you look like utter shit with bags under your bloodshot eyes."

"Thanks." I muttered, seeing him smirk at me from my smart-ass remark to him.

"Just make this easy on me before I lift you up and over my shoulder and go with me." Bull said to me, and I sat there to think how I was going to handle myself then on with the rest of this war. I was taught to be independent, to not have to reply on the thoughts and the notions of others since I was now a trained assassin. But then again, I was still a human being deeper on the inside and I was trying so hard not to be seen as weak. Should I let him help me in this manner? He held out his hand for me to take so he could help me up, and after eyeing him for another moment or two, I took his hand.

I decided to be human again.

* * *

That night I was curled up in my bed, or a makeshift bed that I made for the night that consisted of my jacket sparkled up underneath me with some old mattress that was found and never used by the other guys. Once again I had my own room, thankfully, though Bull stay by me as I was falling asleep there on the bed. He didn't mind, he told me so at least three times when I tried to tell him to leave me be. He could sense that I needed someone to look over me, almost like a protection kind of thing. It seemed silly and almost childish, for him to look over me like I was a child trying to go to sleep, but he didn't really care up to that point. I was just glad I had someone there as a sense of hope there that someone was going to be closely when I woke up, to make me remember that I was back in reality and no longer living in my nightmares over and over again.

The first time that night, I had a regular dream like everyone else.

* * *

I woke up to the small rays of light peeking through the broken windows of the room I stayed in, having a blank and yawn with the fullness of rest underneath my skin and through my brain, It felt nice to actually sleep for once in my life and not be able to be afraid of what I was going to see when I closed my eyes. Lifting my body up slowly, I looked across from me to see my rifle, popped up against wall near where I head was and I grinned. My rifle, something that I looked to as a sign of pure protection and a anchor in my shitty thinking. I reached over, grasping it with my sore fingers from the battle before as I rose up to grab my jacket. I could go for a shower, hell, I could go for some food that would make me feel even better. With a new objective in my mind, I got to my feet and then stretched out my back to pop some of the joints there and get them working once more before I walked out of the room and into the hallway that would lead me back into the square that we were in. While I walked, I threw the strap to my rifle over my shoulder and across my chest, loving the familiar feel of the strap against my chest as m rifle rested against my back.

The sun was touching my face, having me smile slightly and close my eyes in a sigh of relief that I made it through one more night without pain or fear haunting me. I loved feeling the sun on my skin, it was a rare thing to feel when I was living in Seattle when most of the time it was gloomy and rainy. This felt more like heaven, at least to me from a restful sleep and a peace of mind for once.

"Kit!" I heard a familiar voice, having me open my eyes again and scan the area to see whom spoke. It was Shifty, the one person who was missing in action yesterday and I haven't seen since we left for the planes before the drop in Normandy, I grinned from ear to ear, missing his company beyond words and I saw him walking over to me with Private Sisk right behind him, along with Webster. We met in the middle of the square, having both Shifty and I hug each other and get a wave of relief to come over me. It was so good to seem him alive and well, since I too was worried about him since we saw each other last.

"Good to see you, Shifty. Where've you been?" I asked him.

"Wandering around with this guy. Thankfully we found our way here." Shifty said in a lighthearted manner, pointing to Sisk behind him whom waved at me with his own big grin on his face. I smiled at the both of them.

"I'm glad you're okay." I reassured him with my own compassionate voice.

"Same here, Kit. But what Webster told me is that you're already raising hell on the Germans with how you fought yesterday." Shifty said in more of a amused tone, though I just scoffed at him playfully.

"It was nothing." I replied back, never liking the attention on me all the time. But he just grinned at me, the same kind of grin that I would get from one of my brothers. He reminded me of them, one in particular: Samuel. He was beyond kind, compared to the other two, and he had a way of lightening the book with the tone of his voice and how he spoke which would make the things around me that were chaotic disappear. He was kind, a childish heart and a good one to be sen though his eyes and grin. That was Samuel, and now that was Shifty right in front of me.

"We know where we are going yet?" Shifty asked me in wonder as I saw a group of more men walking into the square that were new, trying to find us for some more. One of them was another private from Easy: Blithe. But he looked out of it, almost like he was walking in a dream like manner as i shook my head to Shifty's answer.

"No idea just yet." I replied back, seeing him eye the area as well when more of the soldiers were coming into the area and they were being greeted by our guys. I could see some of them already trying to show what they snagged from the Germans, including ponchos and knives and one Swastika flag that joe LIegott had in his hands, showing off with pride.

"Easy Company, gather up!" We heard from the other side of the courtyard, over where Welsh was and all of our Company that was in attendance walked over to see where he was. I was about to head over as well when I felt a hand on my shoulder, having me look to see it was Winters there. He looked over at me as we watched the Easy men walk away from us over to Welsh and his list of instructions for them.

"I wanted to talk to you in private, Lieutenant." Winters explained to me as I heard Welsh talk to the rest of the boys there.

"It'll be dark soon, I want light noise discipline. No talking, no smoking, and no playing grab-fanny with the man in front of you, Luz." Welsh said to the men and hearing some of them chuckle from his last remark to Luz.

"What is it, sir?" I asked Winters as we were standing face to face to each other and having me watch me with his bright and leading eyes.

"We're going to take a new town: Carentan. We need to take this town for the ground assault to get through and to help win the war," Winters explained to me as I heard the same thing from Welsh and how he was explaining the situation to the mass group of men, "I'm going to need you to help take out any of the German Soldiers for us, to be an extra pair of eyes for us with your skills with the gun."

"Absolutely, sir." I agreed with him, seeing him give me his reassuring grin on his face and I smiled slightly back at him, "I only ask if I have one more person to work with."

"Who is that?" He questioned.

"Shifty, sir. He's a great shot and has a keen eye. We can work together here in Carentan." I explained to him, seeing him watch me and looked behind me at the mass group of men, though Luz was the one speaking up to see Luz doing a rather amusing and great impression of Major Taylor.

"Remember boys: give me three days and three nights of hard fightin', and you will be relived!" He said in his accent of Major Taylor, and hearing the others sicker around him and even seeing Welsh smirk from his spot in front of the boys. Winters looked back at me as I was waiting for his approval for using Shifty in my own motives in the new battle that was coming ahead.

"I can let that happen." He replied back to me, having me grin at him and feel a bit better that I was not going to got through this whole new battle that is coming to come to a head.

"Thank you, sir." I thanked him.

"Glad to have you with this Company." He replied back to me as he walked off, having me stand there for a moment or two without saying anything or doing anything. I was just drinking in the notion of going into another battle and having a new objective in my mind. I could feel the letter that I got tom Captain Jacobs against my chest within my jacket pocket, having me think about it some more as I heard Luz once more.

"The thing to remember boys: flies spread disease. So keep yours closed!" He said in his imitation one more time before the other boys chuckled and started to walk off in the direction of where we were heading to get to the town we needed to take over and take a hold of. I decided to snap out of whatever funk I was in and get my head back into the game that was set before me. I walked over with the rest of the men, seeing Shifty talking to Sisk and I trotted over to him and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Shifty! Hey, you got a second?" I asked him, seeing him look over his shoulder at me and pause before he faced me.

"What's up, Kit?" He asked in pure curiosity. I shifted my strap of my rifle against my chest and eyed him.

"You up to help me out in the battle over in Carentan?" I asked him in curiosity and in hopefulness. I saw hims slow grin from ear to ear, almost as if we were going to play some kind of playful game with one another. Although it was not even close to being the same thing since we were going to be shooting and running around in a real battle, it was still somewhat nice to be to have another person that I could rely on when it came to camaraderie and war.

"Sure thing."

* * *

The one thing I remember doing the most when we were in the town, was running. We started on he edge of the town, not moving or not saying a word as we were waiting for some kind of signal to start our assault on the town. But that was short lived when we heard the first runs of gunshots when Shifty and I started our run into the town. I could remember running past Tipper and Luz, whom were hiding behind a building around the corner.

"Where did everybody go?" Tipper asked Luz in a scream.

"I have no idea!" Luz replied in almost a shout as Shifty and I bolted past them.

I was running so much that I could feel my lungs over working over and over again as we were running into the town and shooting against the Germans. Bullets were already going around and above me as I was going as fast as I could into the town and hearing shouts left snd right. All of my senses were heightened, and I as trying to think back to my training and how I was going through the motions that were there. I had to remember what I had to do, how I was going to do it, and where I was going to go. Our men were shooting against the Germans as I bolted some more, along the ruined buildings and abandoned stores. Shifty was right behind me as I told him our plan: aim for the roof.

We had to aim high,

"Now, Shifty!" I yelled behind me, seeing him branch out and go to the left to the building across the street from me as I was about to go into a building myself when a German Soldier ran out to almost shoot at me. I threw up my pistol, shooting at him once and seeing him fall to the floor as I bolted inside. It was dark in there, smoke everywhere and the dust filling my lungs as I went for the stairs. I could hear someone up there on the second and third floor, the Germans must have been in there and were shooting at our men.

Once I reached the top of the stairs and I turned the corner, I could hear another gun going off from behind one of the doors that was in the building down the hallway. I ran down, getting my pistol ready and then listening in with my ear against the door to hear what was going on. Half of the time it was gunfire, but the other half it was of Germans. I knew it. Throwing up my foot, I kicked the door in and I threw up my pistol yet again. Three of them were in there, one of them at the machine gun that was prepped up and two others were with their rifles against one of the windows that was wide open and aiming down at my men. I shot at all three of them before they could even blink, their bodies hitting the floor and the room was once again in silence. The Battle was still going on outside and I walked over to the edge where the window was, peering out to see the sight there.

The ground level where I once was about a minute ago was deserted since people were taking over, but the guns were still going off and officers were yelling out orders left and right. I kicked away the rifles from the dead bodies just in case something were to happen. Grabbing my rifle from behind my back and cocking it into place, I peered around the street area to see where I can shoot and who I needed to protect.

One of the Germans was shooting out from the corner of the street, trying to get another set of our soldiers there and I shot at him, seeing him fall to the floor within an instant and I looked over to the left, seeing another set of Germans running over along the dusty and damaged road. I shot at the first one, seeing him fall and others looking over in my direction and was about to shoot at me. Another German fell when he was shot, but not by me, I peered up and across froth way when I saw Shifty shooting from the roof, having me smirk as I watched him take out another soldier from the rooftop with ease.

Way to go partner.

I shot at the rest of the men without them scattering and hearing another grenade go off near me from another building, though my own building shook as I was about to move out of the way when I saw an American soldier running down the paved street. It was Liebgott, and he was moving down the street with my eyes following him. He was going at a good pace, but then I saw something move out of the corner of my eye seeing someone who was about to shoot him from behind. He could hear because of the gunfire over the area. But once the noise dyed down, I found the opportunity to call him out.

"Liebgott!" I screamed, seeing him pause as the German was raising his pistol to shoot him. He looked up at where I was just as I took the shot at the soldier, whom cried out when I got him in the neck and collapsed to the ground, instantly dead. Joe looked over at the body, then slowly turning his head back to me and having me see him stare at me intently now. I nodded my head once at him, not having to do anything else since I spared his life. It was part of my job: to protect Easy from anyone and anything. So that's what I was going to do.

I moved away from the door and out of the room, back in the hallway and then hearing some more Germans yelling below on the ground level. I had a feeling that they were going to come up to this level so I bolted up to find a access way to get to the roof. The stairs kept climbing, as did I as I could hear more of the Germans coming up from the ground to find me since they figures out where I was. The sound of the battle was still going on, which made me go faster and thinking harder as to how this was going to end.

I made it to the roof, finally, and I could feel the crisp wind that was plagued with both smoke and the scent of blood along with gunpowder and rotten metal as I bolted over to the edge, propped myself down on the edge of the rooftop and threw my rifle back in position. The building only was three stories, so I was closer to the ground than I thought I was going to be. More and more men were running around left and right along the road below, and I could witness some of the buildings falling to pieces from the grenades and the explosions going off. With my eyes, I scanned and combed the area, taking shots at whatever Germans were coming and going anywhere near the Americans that were fighting back. Shifty was going to the same, taking out those who were coming too close to being a victor in a death round. But something sounded off on my right, down the road a bit and I shot my eyes over to see what it was. Shouting was happening there, and I instantly got up, getting m rifle back on my backside and then running over to the edge of the building to see the small gap between the two buildings.

I jumped without hesitation, feeling my body going through the air and over the gap, landed on my feet gracefully and without a trip as I kept running, going over that rooftop and then jumping again to land on the third building. This time, there were shingles there and I landed on the top, grabbing onto the edge with my fingers and then peering over my shoulder at the alley down below me. There was nothing going on there, not even touched by the battle as I slowly crawled my way down to being against the wall, planting my feet there and then seeing a rain gutter tube that was attached to the other side of the building across from me. I pushed off from my building to that one, grasping the tube and crawling down with ease. Thank God for the training I had at Fort Benning, running through the forest and up and down trees had its perks after all.

I bolted out from the alleyway, seeing nothing around me at first but hear more of the gunfire happening and I shot my head over at where it was coming from.

"They got us zeroed! Spread out! Get the hell out of there!" It was Lipton and he was screaming at the rest of the men to run and not stay still. I looked over to where he was pointing, and more explosions were going off. They were trying to outrun us, but I was more panicked on what was going on with the rooftops, mostly who was up there.

Shifty.

"Shifty!" I belted out, trying to find him as I ran towards the firing, not away from it.

"Kit! Get outta there now!" Lipton ordered me as more men were running past me, but my eyes were on the sky now. Hell, I saw Bull carrying one man with a blown off leg on his back like it was a sack of hay. I kept my eyes there along the rooftops, seeing nothing there at first but then witnessing a small speck there on the top. It was him and he was looking right down at me.

"Shifty, run!" I commanded him, seeing him look at the explosions that were coming closer now and he disappeared then. I wanted to go and find him, to make sure that he was not going to get hit, but then that was no longer on my mind when I heard another blast, right behind me that made me almost loose my own footing that I whirled around to see what happened. Lipton was launched back, hitting a concrete wall of a courtyard.

"Lip!" I bellowed, looking to see where it came from. Another machine was hidden, along one of the alleyways and I saw some of the germans there. I grabbed one of my grenades that was on my hip, arming it and throwing it int heir direction, The grenade when off and they were all down for, having me ugh in relief as I then saw Talbert rushing over to Lipton, having me join him as well. Tablet squatted down next to Lipton, who look banged up on his face and he started to men him there.

"Hey, buddy." Tablert said to him, getting to his arm but I saw Lipton's eyes going somewhere else, more south to be exact. Talbert, as well as I, looked to see where he was gazing with worried eyes, a wound near his crotch. Talbert torn the fabric a bit to look inside, having me see that he was checking to make sure he was all okay.

"You're okay, Lip. Everything's right where it should be." He reassured Lipton, then helping him and I saw Lipton look over at me. He looked so worn out already, Talbert having one arm wrapped around him and also looking at me as I stood in the middle of the ruined town with gunfire still going on.

"Where's Shifty?" Lipton asked me with the little amount of strength he had left in his tone. I was about to answer when the sound of rushing feet was right behind me, making me look back to see it was none other than Shifty rushing over to us, covered in dust and sweat. I sighed in relief, glad to see that it was okay and nothing bad happened to him. He was out of breath when he reached us, having me walk over to clasp him on the shoulder.

"You okay?" He asked me, thinking that I was the one that was wounded.

"Never better," I said back to him, "Come on, let's go find the others and save their asses." Shifty grinned as me as we both were holding our rifles once again in a defense stance, running away from Lipton and Talbert and over to where we were hearing more gunfire. I was glad that he was back next to me when we were trying to defend our boys, we work better on a team since we were pretty fast with both our guns and with our feet.

Once we turned a corner, I was greeted to the butt of a rifle to my face without getting any kind of warning. A German soldier slammed his rifle against my face in an effort to knock me out, though it bruised me Shifty was about to take his shot when the same soldier aimed at him. I was against a wall, but I saw Shifty was about to be shot and I kicked him away from being in the line of fire, the gun going off and not hitting him as he fell to the floor.

Within a second I grabbed the barrel of the rifle with both hands, shoving it back to the German to get him out of his stance and then witness him losing his grip on his own gun. I snatched it away from him, the strap falling off of him and I swung it like a baseball bat, hard across his mouth and seeing the blood splatter from his mouth as he fell to the floor unconscious. It all happened within seconds, having me throw the rifle to the floor and then looking over to see Shifty slowly get up from the ground.

"You okay?" I asked him, seeing him eye my face as I got him stand back up on his own two feet.

"I should ask you the same question." he said back to me, having me look at him in a confused way before he pointed to my cheek. I reached up, touching the skin slightly and then squinted, The rifle when he hit me, got me hard on the cheek bone and I would think my whole cheek was red at that point. Hell, it felt like it broke the skin and I felt a small hint of blood coming out of my cheek then.

"Well shit." I said out loud in a gasp, Shifty walked over to me some more to look at my cheek.

"Let's get out of here and go find Doc." He advised.

"I can handle a bit of pain." I reminded him, though he eyed me suspiciously.

"Sure you can. Come on," He said back to me, having me sigh and grab my rifle that fell to the floor when I was hit by the soldier with his own gun. Shifty held his own gun as well when we started to walk again, but keeping out guard up. Another battle was under my belt, but now I had a small amount of blood that was shed in my behalf and I wondered if I was going to shed anymore in the near future. It might be the case, but then again it might not. But as we walked back out onto the streets, I could hear and see the battle was winding down, along with the men from our Company and others running to get back out of own and to our base camp. We are down here, but where were we going to go next.

And most importantly, was it going to be just as intense that this was? Or Worse?


	15. Chapter 15

**D-Day Plus 6**

**Carentan, France**

"Let me take a look." Doc was standing in front of me as I was placed on top of a table for him to check my wounded cheek, though it was now getting blue and purple with the bruise and the cut that was there, thanks to the German and his rifle against my cheek as an attempt to assault me. Shifty wanted me to get it checked out, then again it was going to be a nice break for us within the battle. Once we got the safe house where the wounded were going to be tended, we got wind that we took Carentan and we had success on our side.

"How did it happen?" He asked me, his thick accent rang in the air as I saw Shifty standing behind him, eyeing me with a hint of concern there in his eyes and how he was standing there. It was once again a reminder that he was making me remember my brother Samuel and how he would look at me with concern when I would scrap a knee, of even after what Gerald did to me. He was the kinder brother, kinder with laces of concern and worry in his blood.

"Took a gun to the face when we turned the corner." I explained to Doc as he was resting his fingers against my damaged cheek and then eyeing me with his dark orbs.

"Thankfully, it's not deep enough for stitches. But it'll leave a mark none the less." Doc explained to me as he grabbed his satchel without taking his eyes off my cheek and damaged cut there.

"Thanks Doc," I thanked him as I squinted from the medication he was placing on my cheek to clean the wound. He said nothing, but smiled slightly as he went to work on my cheek. I could hear more and more men getting tended to and talking to each other about the battle as Doc kept working on my cheek and getting to cleaned out. I went through the pain, since I felt worse from the training at Fort Benning with the constant breaking of skin on my palms and the bruises from going up and down trees. Not to mention the practice sparring with the others in Wolf, this was a cake walk.

"What happened to the other guy?" Doc asked me in a hesitant manner, "If you don't mind me asking."

"What happened to the rest of the Germans out there in the battle?" I countered with another question to him, seeing him eye me while he was still mending to my scratch on my cheek. He got the message since the man was clearly dead from our assault on the town.

"I shouldn't have asked that." He said in a lower register, sounding a bit shameful about asking that to me. I shook my head slightly, feeling a bit bad that he was feeling and for asking such a thing about what I was doing. Doc was clearly trying to look out for me, in a certain way and form, and who was I to deny that when I was going to be stuck with this Company for awhile.

"It's fine, Doc." I reassured him as he was finishing up.

"You know, it doesn't look too bad." Shifty tried to reason with me, having me eye him from my spot in front of Doc and seeing him watch me with a small grin on his face.

"You think?" I asked with hope.

"Yeah, it'll leave a good scar there. You can have more stories said about you because of it." Shifty reassured me with a big grin now on my own face, yet it was hurting because of the bruise there.

"Let's just stick with the story of the German and me whacking him with the rifle like a bat." I explained to him, seeing him nod his head in agreement.

"You did that?" Doc asked me as he finished and got his things put away in his satchel.

"She had a hell of a swing," Shifty added to answer him.

"That's what you get when you have three brothers to grow up around." I joked, seeing the both of them chuckle as Doc was standing a bit away from me, looking at his work on my cheek as I watched him with my eyes to see if he was done with me.

"Well, it could be worse. But, you'll be fine none the less. You want some pain killers?" He asked me, about to grab his satchel to get the pills but I shook my head.

"No need, I can handle it." I said back to him as he then eyed me to make sure I was telling the truth. Hell, I could go through a bit of pain within the next couple of days, this was nothing compared to wha I went through before. I was about to say something else when we heard someone hopping into the room, the three of us looking in that direction and seeing it was Winters himself, hopping on one leg since it looked like the other was injured.

"Sir!" Shifty said as he grabbed his arm to help him, having me hop off of the table and walk over to help him over. Winters was grunting, the pain could be pretty bad though when he looked at me, a small look of concern was on his face as he reached up to touch my bruised cheek.

"What happened, Lieutenant?" He asked, but I shook my head away from him touching the wound and bruise.

"It's nothing, sir. More importantly, what happened to you?" I asked him back as we got him over to the table, seeing him hop up in pain and Doc grasping his injured leg gently within his calloused hands. He got the foot propped up and ready for examination.

"I think I was shot in the leg, not idea though." he said through gritted teeth as Doc was getting his tools out to dig out whatever was in Winter's leg. Shifty and I stood by each other and watched as Doc started his work on the leg and Winters was grunting ever once in awhile from the pain. But Winters looked over at the both of us, the leader smirk was back on his face though it was still laced with discomfort from the work on his wounded skin.

"Saw you two in action over there in town, well done." he said to the both of us in sincerity.

"It was nothing, sir. Thanks to Kit here, we knew where to hit hard." Shifty reassured him as he clasped my shoulder, having me playfully glare at Shifty for praising me.

"Is that so?" Winters asked with his tone of lightness, having me look back at him and see the smirk back on his face. He knew I had my own objective with Shifty and I was practically in charge of it, so to hear that coming from him almost sounding like he was pulling my leg.

"It's like what Shifty said: It was nothing sir." I explained to Winters, seeing him nod his head and then squint in pain from Doc trying to get out the small item in his leg.

"Sorry, sir." Doc apologized, though he kept going with his procedure.

"You two can go catch a breath out there, we took the town now and we can take a breather for a while before we move out." he instructed the both of us, having me nod my own head.

"Yes, sir." I replied, the both of us walking away from both Doc and Winters and having me hear their own conversation going on.

"You're lucky it was a ricochet." Doc said to him as Shifty and I were about to head out of the room when we saw someone sitting against the wall on the floor, looking head and not saying a word, nor was he moving an inch. It made me freeze, because I knew who it was and how he was just sitting there, like he was in a daze.

"Blithe?" I said in almost a whisper and in shock as Shifty looked too. It was in fact Blithe, almost like he was daydreaming on the floor with his knees in front of him and his arms resting on his knees. He had no pain in his eyes, nor was there anger or fear. He was just….staring right in front of him as if he was both entranced and in confusion. But he said nothing to us as we walked past him, like we weren't there to just stare right back at him. I wonder what happened to him to make him act like this, what brought him to this kind of state, but then again who was I to ask that since he already looked safe enough there in the safe house. So Shifty and I hesitantly walked past him, seeing him still against the wall. Was he shellshocked from the battle? If so, why wasn't I?

What was wrong with me?

* * *

After sitting on my butt for a good amount of time, I decide to go walking around and get some feeling back in my legs again. We were just waiting in the town that we took, hearing it was a huge success on our part for getting the other military personnel onto mainland. We won that battle though we had some casualty on our side as well as theirs, but we were just waiting to some kind of order to move out and get ready for the next target and the next mission.

Out in the courtyard, the soldiers were all lying around and talking together, eating some ration food that I could tell was not fulfilling their needs for hunger as the sun was beating down on us now with vengeance and having em feel the warmth all over in my combat gear. I wanted to check up on some of the boys and make sure that they were doing okay. So it was a coicidence to see some of them at the courtyard, saying out on the stone and near the grass in a chatting session. I recognized Muck and Malarky, along with Penkala and a two others. But then I saw Blithe there too, laying on his back and staring up at the sky and taking it easy from his spot on his back. But the one person whom made me take a step back and almost look at in surprise, was Ron Spiers. He was talking with them, almost like he was giving an order of some kind, and then was walking away. He took a few steps away from them, but one of them spoke up.

"Out of town, Lieutenant? Already?" He asked him, Spiers looking back to look at him.

"That's right." He merely replied in his cool manner. But the man was giving him an intense stare like he was not pealed with the plan that he was just told.

"Don't they know we're just getting settled here?" the man asked in almost a short manner, having me watch Ron just look at him intensely and then walk on without even saying another word or two to him. He was walking in my direction and he saw me, a small smile on his face came on within a moment. But it was when he saw the bruise on my cheek and my cut there, the smile was gone and he looked more concerned. Great, another person fawning over my wound when it was practically nothing for me. He walked over to me, standing in front of me and looking at me intently now. Just staring at him made me both intrigued and afraid at the same time.

"Hello, Ron." I said to him in a greeting, hoping to get him to smile, but he was more concerned with the bruise and cut that I was wearing on my face.

"You okay?" He asked, his voice was wearied compered to what he was using on the group of guys behind us no more than a minute ago.

"It's nothing, Ron." I reassured him, but his eyebrows were fitted together in worry from what he was seeing there on my face. It felt odd to see him being the one that was worried about another person and the wound on their face, how he was showing that concern to me. I was still trying to get used to calling him Ron and here he was, scared over me from a simple cut and cruise.

"You made it out of the battle okay I take it?" I asked him, trying to steer the conversation in another direction that did not involved me safety and how I would be more careful. He nodded his head.

"Made it out just fine, though I lost a couple of my own men in the process." He explained back to me.

"I'm sorry to hear that." I said to him sincerely.

"It's all part of war, Kit. I have to be ready to loose any of my men at any moment." He replied back to me in a smooth fashion, though I eyed him in how he said it like it was nothing.

"Even when you tried to defend them yourself?" I asked him, almost challenging him with his own statement he told me. He watched me carefully as I looked around the area again, seeing the soldiers walking around and getting their own things together before I looked back at Ron.

"Glad to see that you came it out okay." I said to him in a kinder manner, watching him now as he was smiling at me again, It must have been a rare thing to see him smile, since he was known for being so stern and so cool compared to the rest of the men around us. I smiled back, , though I could feel the coiling once again in my stomach and the certain smile that reminded me of simpler and kinder times in my life. All from one person, one man to be exact whom I barely knew.

"Same with you, Kit." He said back to me with his war tone one again, having me honestly wish in that moment I was no a girl, and that he was not looking at me like that. It made me both embarrassed and somewhat safe when he stared at me in that kind of manner.

"When do we move out?" I asked him, remembering the conversation he was having with those soldiers mere seconds before he saw me.

"Sometime soon, though I have no clue as to when. I was confused as well when we were going to move out, since apparently we needed to move out within the same day we took over the town, "However, I found someone who was looking for you since we get here."

"Who?" I asked him, not knowing who would be wanting to come and find me. I was with Easy the whole time, so who was looking for me. Ron grinned at me and looked behind him over his own shoulder, having me look as well and see someone off in the distance, having me grinned from ear and ear and almost squeal in relief and joy since they were signing with another soldier who was signing back.

Beta.

"Beta!" Ron called out, though the other soldier heard him and motioned Beta to look over at us. She looked, seeing me and grinning as well. Her hair was in braids and she was wearing her black combat gear, like me, with her rifle on her back and her fingerless gloves on her hands. I walked past Ron and over to her as she walked to me, the both of us meeting in the middle and she threw her arms around me. I hugged her back, hearing her giggle from us hugging. I was just glad to find another Wolf Company member here, since the last time I saw most of the girls was when I was leaving them to go with Easy. She looked okay, nothing too bad on her face except for grease, sweat and a couple of scratches here and there. When we pulled away from each other, I saw her beautiful face in front of me as she started to sign to me.

_You're looking good. Nice shiner_. She signed, pointing to my bruise and having em swat her finger away, hearing her giggle.

_Shut up. _ I warned her, but she shrugged her shoulders.

_At least it wasn't be who gave you the shiner this time. Who did?_ She asked with her fingers and her eyes kntiting together in confusion.

_A German soldier, though I got rid of him before he could do anything else_. I explained to her.

_Good for you. Lieutenant Spiers told me that you could handle yourself_. She reassured me with her signing, though I looked at here in confusion now since she brought up Ron.

_He talked about me? Since when? _I signed to her with a curious look on my face. She waved me off like it was nothing.

_I don't remember, but he asked about you once or twice._ She informed me, though it was throwing me off a bit when she mentioned that Ron was asking about me.

_What did he ask_? I questioned her some more.

_Just what you're like, simple stuff like that. But I didn't say much._ Beta signed to me with a small smile on her face and I looked over my shoddier at Ron again, seeing him watch us for a solid mid second before looking away and then walking off to talk to someone else. It was odd that he wanted to know more about me and he would go talk to Beta to get some information out of her. It seemed weird, since he was asking about me? Of all people he would want to know more about, why did it have to be me?

_You didn't tell him anything? _ I asked her looking back at her and seeing her look back at me in confusion.

_Not too much, why you ask? _She asked me back with her fingers moving around in front of me and her face was now looking more confused than ever.

_Nothing, don't worry about it._ I replied back to her, seeing her eye me. She was trying to read me, like before when we would spar together and she could tell when I was having either a good day or a shitty day. I just smiled at her, that was the only thing I could do at that point. This was already awkward enough for me to try and act alike a civilized person in front of the guy, now hearing that he was asking about me and going to Beta was even more of a confusing thing for me to get my head around.

"Let's go! 1st Platoon! Weapons on me! We're moving out!" Welsh called out as he was walking over to us. Beta and I looked over in his direction to see the other soldiers getting us slowly from either sleeping or sitting in the shade to join him. We were finally moving on with the war and I was kind of glad to be moving on instead of sitting still, though Beat tapped me on the shoulder to get my attention again.

_Looks like we're walking together_. She said to me in a gleeful manner, having me nod and see her shove me playfully in the shoulder, Finally, a breath of fresh air in this whole situation that we were going in and we were just going to move on. I was glad to find someone to talk to that knew me so well, willing to talk to me about anything that was not including Ron and his need to get to know me more.

* * *

"Hey Luz? How far are we going?" Perconte asked Luz as I was walking with Shifty and Bull, along with Beta and Luz on my other side along a pass open field with God Knows where.

"Oh, Jesus Christ, Frank. I don't know. Until they tell us to stop." Luz advised him with the agitation heard in his tone.

"High ground. There's high ground up ahead." Hobbler piped up for us to hear. I looked over to see Shifty and Beta together, Beta trying to each him the alphabet in Sign Language since we had time to kill while we were walking along the tall grass. Shifty was into it, trying to each letter right and when he would falter, Beta would giggle and correct him with one hand as her other hand was holding her rifle.

"Okay, genius. Answer me this then: Why is Easy Company the only company who's either at the front of an advance, or, like now, exposed at the far edge of the line?" Perconte asked Hobble now, not liking the situation we were in clearly.

"To keep you on your toes." Hobbler merely replied, having me grin to see how content he was compared to Perconte. I gazed up ahead of us to se who was walking there. I could see some of our men: Christenson, Doc was behind him along with Blithe there, all being lead by Winters and then seeing Ron far off in the distance with some of his men from Dog Company. Seeing him from behind and how he was walking with authority somehow made me want to get to know him some more as well. Did he have a somewhat concerning past like me? Was it pleasing or stained? Why did I want to know? Why was he wanting to get me to know me more and more. Did he want to be friends with me?

"No, that's not what I'm saying. I'm saying that we're never in the middle, and we're the fifth of nine companies of this regiment. Able through item. Think of it." Perconte was still rambling on with his tirade on how we were still out here on our own at the moment, though I doubted anyone else around him cared.

"See there?" Hobbler asked, pointing ahead, "You see that—" But he was cut off when gunfire was heard. We all slammed to the floor, our bellies on the floor and trying to hide in the grass a gunfire was coming out way now and having me hold my role closely to me incase I had to aim at something, or at someone.

"Incoming!" someone shouted.

"Contact right! Get in the Hedgerow!" Welsh ordered us, pointing us in the right direction and where we can go and hide.

"See what I mean?!" Hobbler asked over the firing as I crawled over to where we were supposed to go. Shifty and Beta were crawling side by side together, not slowing down for a single seconds as were getting closer to the area where they wanted us to hide. If only I could see who was doing the firing then I would take the shot, but it was useless since the grass was in the way and we were all on our bellies by that point.

"Bring it around! Right there! Sgt. More! Stay Low! Luz, get down here with the radio!" Welsh was yelling out more and more commands at us as I saw the small area where we were destined to hide. I got there as fast as I could,seeing the other join me in the small ditch area and then going under the earth to not get hit. I could feel the earth underneath me move around from the gunfire on us, and I tried to breathe in and out since we were stuck there.

We were sitting ducks. Great.

* * *

Nightfall came for us, and we still weren't moving from our spots in the ditches and underneath the bushes as rain came over us, not to mention hearing the chants of the Germans singing to us over and over. I didn't know why they would sing something like that, but it made the time go by I guess. I was in one ditch with Christenson, Beta and Talbert, though I was pressed over the top with my rifle over the edge and my scope on the enemy to see where they were. I was thinking that I would be bale to see some of their men, but there was no luck with the large mass amount of rain and the pitch black darkness around me.

"Show me again." I looked over my shoulder to see Talbert signing with Beta, whom was showing him some signs like how she did with Shifty hours beforehand in broad daylight. I knew they were both doing to stay awake, and to pass the time. Talbert was picking up on it a bit faster than I thought he would, and Beta was patient enough to correct him when he did a sign wrong. It made me smile, seeing two Companies working together instead of alone. But I tore my eyes away from them and back trough the scope to see if anything changed. Nothing.

"What do ya see, Kit?" Christenson asked me in wonder as I looked away from the scope and sighed in defeat.

"Nothing. Dark as shit out there and no one's moving." I explained to him in a huff as I placed my rifle at my feet to lean against the ditch and not think about it too much . I then rolled my shoulders and looked up and over the edge to see where the others are.

"Where do you think the others are?" I asked in curiosity.

"Fuck if I know." Christenson replied back to me. I sighed, rolling my eyes and then getting up in a crouched position to get my rifle back on my backside.

"What are you doing?" Talbert asked me with Beta watching me now in worry. I looked at all three of them, the light rain touching my forehead and damping my short hair.

"Going to check on the others and make sure they're not going to do something stupid." I explained to them, but signing it at the same time for Beta to see.

_Be careful_. She signed back to me with worry laced in her eyes.

"Don't do anything stupid." Talbert advised me as I eyed him with a small smile on my face.

"You kidding me? That's you're job in Easy. I'm from Wolf Company: We don't do anything stupid at all." I reminded him, seeing him smirk back at me as I finally got out of the ditch and quick run down the line of ditches with my back down low to the floor, not moving too high up and looking from group to group. I could hear the conversations going on with each group of men, talking about how the nights were growing far too long and when they were even going to get out of there. I could tell they were getting restless by just sitting there with nothing else to do. After running along the area for about a solid 30 seconds, I stumbled upon the ditch where Luz and Muck were.

"Heya boys, you doing okay?" I asked them both, seeing him look up and over at me and then grinding, though I could see the tiredness in their faces.

"Since when are you allowed to be outside your ditch?" Muck asked in a light manner, having me shrug and throw up my hands in defense.

"Since when do I take order of any of you boys?" I countered back with him. He eyed Luz, whom was still grinning at me while he was holding his radio pack in his hands.

"What's the news from the other boys?" Luz asked me as he was working on his radio then, though I knew he was listening in on me.

"Nothing yet, I'm going down the line to check on you lot before I head back. No one is moving around from what I could see." I explained to the both of them.

"You couldn't take any of them out with your rifle?" Muck asked with hope in his tone.

"Not one. I'm only human, Muck." I reminded him, seeing hum laugh as Luz looked over at me again. He then pointed to my cheek.

"Heard what happened to ya, how's the face holding up?" Luz asked me in curiosity. I reached up to touch my face with my fingers, feeling the ache there and having me squint a bit.

"I can handle it, though I'm wondering why word if spreading around these parts anyways." I replied back to him, seeing his shrug his own shudders but his eyes never leaving my face.

"Secrets can't last too long with these boys, Kit." Luz advised me, though he grinned his toothy grin right back at me, "Although, I know a good amount of shit on the other guy that can make you really rethink their personal lives."

"Don't you dare, Luz." Muck advised him in a low tone, but Luz rolled his eyes.

"For instance, I know a thing or two about our dear old Captain Sobel and how he basically tripped and ate horse shit on the paved road in England without anyone seeing…except me." Luz explained in his own Sobel impersonation, having me giggle and Muck chuckle from his spot next to me. I never knew this, but thankfully Luz was holding this in for that right moment.

"No shit, really?" I asked him to make sure he wasn't pulling my leg.

"I swear on my life I saw it, and he was trying to make it not be a big deal. But man, I tried so hard not to laugh and have him see me." Luz said back to me with his grin on his face. However, someone cried out from afar and all of our heads snapped over to the sound. Within seconds I started to rushed over, keeping low to the ground since someone could still be watching me and I had to find out who it was.

"Kit!" Luz called out to me in concern, but I was going to find out who was the one that got hurt. But within seconds, I saw what happened. It was Talbert, having me wonder when he left our ditch, and he had a wound on his stomach and he was against a tree. Another soldier, Smith was looking in concern as Joe Liebgott was tending to Talbert and trying to keep him alert.

"Can you breath?" Joe asked Talbert.

"Yeah, I can breathe." He replied but in a short gasp.

"Look at me! Look at me!" Joe instructed him in a short manner.

"Yeah, I can breathe!" Talbert said back to him in another shorter manner, but then he looked over at me as I crawled over to be next to Joe and in front of him. Smith was silent the whole time, though he didn't hear him wander off in his own self pity.

"How you doin' Tab?" I asked him, "I leave you alone for five minutes and you get hurt. What does that say?"

"Sorry, Kit." He said to me in a weak smile.

"What happened?" I asked him, but then looking over at Joe.

"Smith thought he was a Kraut and he stabbed him with his bayonet." Joe explained to me roughly as he was still examining the wound and making sure Talbert was staying away. Another sound was nearby, the sound of rushing feet as Doc was running over to us now. Joe and I moved out of the way just in time for him to be getting his job down on the wound. Joe and I watched and waited behind Doc as he was looking at the wound and then over at Talbert.

"I'll put some sulfa on the wound, Floyd. You're gonna be fine." Doc explained to him softly as he was starting tog et to work on the injury. I looked over at Joe, seeing him eyes me as well and then a small silence emceeing over the both of us then.

"Thanks," Joe said plainly, though it sounded a bit warmer than how he would usually speak to me, "For saving me back there at Carentan." It made me remember when I pulled the trigger on the soldier that was about to kill him. I wasn't thinking, it was a reflex since he was about to be killed in front of me. I did what I had to do, so this was surprising coming from him.

Hearing him thank me as we were watching our combat medic tend to our friend and make sure that he was okay. This was a huge deal, at least it was for me. I could only must one thing to say in return to him, since we were already trying so hard to not get killed that night with the counter attack that we were in the middle of.

"You're welcome."


	16. Chapter 16

I could hear the murmurs of the other men as I walked past them and through the bushes to get back over to my ditch where Beta once was with Christenson. After seeing that Talbert was going to be taken care of by Doc, and Joe went off to find his buddies at his own ditch, I decided to return back and get some shut eye. since most of the men were about to do the same thing on their own hiding spots. It felt like early into the morning now, and I could feel the tiredness come over me slowly and heavily. The whole day was wearing me down to the bone and I needed rest, much to my own dismay and regret.

As I walked, I could hear two other men coming up behind me, though at this point I was more skittish than anything so I jumped over to hide out in the bushes to make sure I disappeared. Within a few seconds I could hear the voices more distinctly, and ti surprised me to hear that it was Ron and Private Blithe talking to each other. Ron was in the front and Blithe was right behind him, almost like he was trying to keep up.

"Got some nervous privates in your company." Ron said aloud with his voice ringing in the night.

"We do, sir. Yeah, we do. I can vouch for that." Blithe said back to Ron in almost a stammer as he was trying to keep up with him.

"They just don't see how simple it is." Ron voiced back, having me watch with intruding eyes as Blithe too was looking at him in confusion.

"How simple what is, sir?" Blithe asked as they both stopped in front of one ditch that I could see Johnny Martin was already asleep at. Ron stared at him, almost giving him an intense stare as he spoke on.

"Just do what you have to do." Ron replied back and was about to turn and walk away from Blithe spoke.

"Like you did on D-Day, sir?" I froze as he said this, having me wonder if he saw what I did when I went to go grab Malarky. Ron stared back at him, no longer walking away as Blithe found his voice once more, "Sir, when I landed on D-Day, I found myself in a ditch all by myself. I fell asleep. I think it was the air-sickness pills they gave us." Ron was just watching him as I was too, seeing the both hurt and fear in Blithe eyes and hearing it in how he spoke to Ron, It made he hurt for him too, almost like he was trying to grasp on that reality that he was in a war and there was nothing for him to do in order to prevent it.

"When I woke up, I didn't really try to find my unit…to fight. I just…I just kind of stayed put." Blithe ended, almost in a sorrowful way.

"What's your name, trooper?" Ron asked.

"I'm Blithe, sir. Albert Blithe." Blithe explained back to him. I inched a bit closer but I didn't make a sound since they still didn't know I was there watching the whole conversation.

"You know why you hide in that ditch, Blithe?" Ron asked him.

"I was scared."

"We're all scared. You hid in that ditch because you think there's still hope. But, Blithe, the only hope you have is to accept that fact that you're already dead." Ron explained smoothly, though it gave me a chill going down my spine to hear such a thing coming out of his mouth and over to some scared private. What was he thinking? This was not the time to say something like this to a private who already wen thorough enough as it was for the first couple days of war. It felt like it was too much for him, and it looked like it in Blithe's face as he was watching Ron say this like it was nothing else in the world.

"And the sooner you accept that, the sooner you'll be able to function as a soldier's supposed to function: Without mercy, without compassion, without remorse. All war depends on it." Ron ended with him, having me watch as he was not getting up from his spot with Blithe and he walked away from him. I only watched from my spot in the hidden area as Blithe was still in his ditch watching on as Ron was about to turn around. He walked past me, which gave me the time to sneak back out onto the small path that he made with Blithe and he was about to walk on when he paused. He must have heard m, having me hear him chuckle as he then rearranged my shoulders a bit from the stiffness that I felt there.

"Not a whole lot of people can sneak up on me like that." He said in his soft manner again, just like we talked to each other before in Carentan. But now we were in the darkness after another battle under our belts and I was seeing new sights about him that made my views of him shift a bit.

"I'm trained to sneak up on people." I replied back walking over to stand in front of him now, though he was eyeing me with the small smile on his face that he would only show from time to time, why he was showing that to me was clearly out of my own head.

"I can see that." He voiced back to me, though I looked over my shoulder to see Blithe once again in his ditch with Martin, though he still looked out of it from what Ron told him. I would be too if I was in his boat and position.

"Quite the story you told Blithe back there, about the concept of war and what we have to do." I explained to him in a calm manner though it was still a off situation for me to both witness and for me to talk about with him. Ron eyed me, almost like I was accusing him of saying the wrong then. It wasn't that, not completely really.

"I told him what I would tell any other soldier here," He replied back to him simply with a shrug of his shoulders.

"But did you have to say it in that manner? Are you trying to scare him since he's practically a teenager still?" I asked him in almost a dreading manner. It wasn't that he lied, but it was that he had to say it in such a way that it looked like nothing to him, but everything r any other soldier who was still getting over the shellshock of war that was surrounding him.

"How else should I say it?" He countered back with another question for me, though I had no real answer for him on that one. He just shook his head with his smile still on his face, almost like he was once again analyzing me for my spot and how I was talking to him in such a way that did not include fear.

"You tend to surprise me from time to time, Kit." He confessed to me, having me shut my shoulders and shove my hands in my pockets since this was more of a casual conversation now than it was before.

"I do that with people." I answered him back, almost sounding more casual than I should since we were practically in a war. I could tell he was thinking of something else to say since we were at a pause there in our conversation, but I did beat him to the punch.

"Beta tells me that you were asking questions about me." I said to him in almost a fact kind of tone. He looked like I caught him with his hand caught in the cookie jar: shock with a hint of disbelief on his face. It was rather handsome to be honest, but I tried to overlook that one thing when he spoke back to me.

"I'm going to have to talk to her about that." He said in almost a groan, but I chuckled and shook him off with my hand.

"Don't be worried. Though Beta and I never keep things from each other, and neither does anyone in Wolf Company," I replied, though I knew the one thing I have yet to tell any of the girls though that I was by my own choice. That subject was still raw and needed to be mended in time.

"So, what is it that you want to know about me?" I asked him now in a more casual way. I got as well get this out of the way and answer anything that he wants to know than to just ignore him. Ignoring him and keeping my eyes and mind on the war at hand was that ideal way to going around these days, but then again, I was never the ideal girl. He kept his smile on me, almost reaching up to rub the back of his neck in such a nervous manner but he stop hear his collarbone to ask me his question.

"I guess…just the basics." He replied in almost a out of breath kind of way, since I did catch him off guard from how I was being a bit forward with the whole thing.

"Basics? Wow, you sure know how to talk to a woman." I joked with him, almost seeing a hint go blush there on his face. Wow, the fact that I did that, making him look at me in such a way that I almost knocked him off his feet, that was a sure first for me with how I was taught to talk to men, My mother taught me more to be submissive, but with the girls in Wolf Company it was different. They were not afraid to be brash and forward with them, and for some odd reason, I picked up on it in that moment with Ron. Way to go me.

"Okay, how about you tell me your name." He said to me in almost a hopeful manner, though I was looking at him now in confusion.

"My name?" I asked.

"Your real name. Since I doubt Kit is your real name any who and I know Wolf Company uses Code Names." Ron explained to me, though I was now dreading this whole asking questions and getting to know me conversation. I never wanted to be so close to certain people, and Ron was one of them. It wasn't that he was a bad person, far from it. Hell, he was more complex than anything. But it was the thought of telling too much and not having control over my own life anymore that was going to kill me in the end.

"I don't tell my real name." I said in a low manner, not threatening, but more serious to him. He gave me a quizzing look.

"Why not?" He pondered with me, his eyes slightly going over to my bruised cheek and then back at me within seconds before I could call him out on it.

"I just don't, none of us have. It's not in our protocol." I explained to him calmly, though I was already petrified that he wanted to know my simple name. A part of me was glad that I wasn't going to tell him, yet another smaller part, the human part that thirsted for companionship and friendship with others, wanted him to know my name so that my identity was known in him. It must have looked odd for me to hold back so much from him, yet I had to do for so many reasons. For Wolf Company, for my job as an assassin, and for my own sanity of learning how to trust again. This made me feel like shit, wanting to now just turn around and forget the whole conversation even happened with him since now I would be looking more like a fool in front of him. I was about to turn around and leave it at that before he spoke up again, having me freeze in my spot.

"Favorite color." He said in almost a statement, having me watch him now in wonder and shock since he said in such a way that he was desperate to keep me there in the conversation.

"Pardon?" I asked, still trying to figure out what was going on between us.

"What's your favorite color?" He asked me more clearly, the warmth still there on his face and I just slowly grinned at him. This was such a simple question for him to ask me, yet in how he said it almost sounded like he genuinely wanted to know, not asking it to pass the time.

"I like blue." I replied back to him in my warmth of a tone again, seeing him cock his head to the side.

"Really? Just blue?" he asked me with the grin still plastered on his face. Just that smile was making me forget that I was a soldier and almost like a girl.

"No," I said back to him, seeing him watch me for some kind of answer, "Like the ocean, with a mix of green in it from the sun." The look on his face on how I was saying it to him was almost memorizing, with the grease still on his face and how he had some stubble coming in one his chin, it made me have those feelings within my chest and under my skin that I would get after seeing a handsome boy walk down the street. The feeling of adoration, and why I was getting it from him was beyond me.

"How about you?" I asked him, since I didn't want this whole conversation more about me. He looked a bit taken aback by how I asked him, with interest.

"What about me?" He countered back.

"Well, I wanna know you're favorite color." I explained back to Ron now and he thought about it for a moment. It would make me think too, since who asks soldiers what their favorite colors were. Hell, he was the one who started this whole conversation with that very question.

"Green, specifically the green in the Boston Parks after the rain." He replied back to me. I grinned at him and trying to picture that myself in my head. It was a good start for the both of us as we talked throughout the rest of the night, not stopping to sleep but just talking as we walked along the ditches and kept an eye out for anything that could happen.

I was glad that we were talking together, hearing more of his story and where he came from. He was willing enough to tell me, a bit hesitant but glad none the less. When it came to me and what I was going to tell him, I tried to trim around the edges with my family. Hell, I didn't even mention Gerald since that was already a nightmare for me to try and forget. But we talked, hearing on how he went to military school and what kind of family he grew up in. He seemed more down to earth than what we gave him credit for. It felt nice to talk to him, not only to ease my mind off of the war, but just to do something instead of sitting in a ditch and waiting for something to happen to us as a group while we were waiting to fight back at the Germans. We were slowly becoming friends, slowly but surely we were getting close in our bond as friends I had to give him credit: he was not as bad as it seemed compared to the stories that the other Easy Company men were saying about him. Hell, I was starting to like the guy. However, I still had to be careful how I was talking to him and how I presenting myself with him. It was one thing to have another friend in my arensal, and it was another to be close to someone when you remember was pain.

The pain of trusting someone whom would later tear your life apart.

* * *

**D-Day plus 7**

**Outskirts of Carentan**

"Mortar!"

Within seconds all thing went to hell. The earth boomed from the recent explosions within out territory as we all ducked for cover within the hiding bushes and small dirt area. I was expecting us to make a move sometime soon, but they were the ones who made it as we were trying so hard not to die. I was next to Luz with his radio and he was trying to both keep his radio intact and keep his head from being blown off. It got to the point where I saw him shove the radio over to the side and I grabbed him by the collar to both shove him down from behind shot and over to the side to get a better coverage from the leave that were around us. We both were against the floor now, not moving an inch as the others were scrambling to get ready to fight back. I knew I had to join them, but it had to give me a moment to breathe and get my own shit together.

"Watch for silhouttes on the horizon! Find your target! Muzzle fire!" Winters was already getting us ready for the second wind of the war as we were lining up along the line and showing away at the Germans on the other side of the clearing. I did the same with Luz next to me, the both of us joining in on the assault and hearing more and more the bullets coming back to us. Some of our men were getting shot left and right, loosing fingers and getting shot in the leg and almost loosing it if they weren't being dragged away in time.

"I want fire superiority! Garner, keep them pinned down! Keep firing!" Winters yelled at Guarnere as I was slowly moving over from Luz to another area that was a bit open for me to take out any soldiers that were coming our way. I shot at a few, getting them down one by one before I would have to duck out once again from the raid fire that was coming back to me. They found out that I was someone that I was going to be a challenge to kill.

Let them try.

"Sir, Dog and Fox are pulling back." As soon as Nixon said that, I looked back at him as Winters looked a bit out of it from the news. Dog was pulling back? That meant no Ron and no Beta, what in the hell was going on? Did they get in trouble and they had to get out of there? It made me panic for a moment, wondering if it was either one of them that got hurt.

"What" Who gave that order?! Goddamnit…" Strayer said in a groan as I looked ahead and got my head back in the war once more. I had no idea when I was going to see Ron again, let alone Beta, but I had a strange feeling that they could hold to their own and nothing was going to harm him from here on out. I just wished i got to know him more.

Some of the men were running along the edge to get to a better angle, and as more of the bigger rolling machines were coming our way, we had to push our firing onto those tanks to get them away from us. They had the power and we were trying to fire them back, some of us loosing our legs in the process. I could even see two of us guys going out to launch some kind of grenade on the tank that was coming right for us, though I didn't stay around to to watch the guy and I was shooting more and more of the Germans down to keep them away from the two who were on our side.

I saw a couple of our men who were about to be taken out by a bunch of Germans and I had to think of a way to get them away from harm. So I got up and ran across the grass like the others, throwing out my pistol and shooting down at the two Germans who were about to hit the Easy members. But once I got those two of of the way, seeing them all to the ground, I was shot myself in the chest which made me fly to be knocked off my feet and hit the earth in a rather big blow. It hurt like hell, having me loose my wind once or twice before I tried to shrug it off.

"Kit! You okay Kit!" Bull yelled over the gunfire asI got up once more, grabbing my grande from my hip and having my pistol in the other. I may have been shot in the chest, but I wasn't a idiot for not wearing my vest underneath. Thank god for bullet proof vests that Wolf Company got before we were shipped off to war. I would think the others in Wolf Company would be proud of me and what I did.

"I'm all good!" I yelled back at him as I got the grenade ready, pulled the pin and launched it with my good arm over to the tank for it to roll on top of. The regained went off, getting the chain that the tank was on dismantled and the tank loosing its power and control over where it was going. That gave the Easy me another opportunity to shoot it down and get it out of the way. Though I could see some of the German men look over at me with wide eyes. What were they seeing at me? A woman in black combat army attire, short hair that framed my agile face, and a pistol in one hand looking like some kind of warrior. Maybe I was, but I didn't have too much time to think about since I was still out in the open and they were about to fire at me back. I was about to run back when they were shot down, but not by me. It got me confused as to who did it, but I looked over to the side and I saw another couple of tanks rolling over in our direction. They weren't German tanks though, having me hear the cheering of the Easy men behind me and a sigh escape my lips.

Allies. Sherman tanks to be precise.

* * *

**D-Day Plus 25**

"Anyone seen Kit?" I was reading up with the letter I got from Jacobs whom wanted to talk to me as soon as I got back to England, since what I gave him thus far with my missions was making him pleased. Since we had the victory over near the outskirts of Carentan, we were mostly on patrols and taking our sweet time in France before we were going to get any kind of word from our higher power on where we were going to go after this. A group of the men were out on a patrol, led by Nixon and Welsh, and we were back at our cabins that we took up and took over. Even Fox and Dog company came back after we took over that rolling green hill from the Germans, much to my relief because it meant that I was going to spend more time with Beta, and I did. We would spend most of the time together, sparring with one another from time to time to busy ourselves if we weren't on patrol. Hell, I started talking to Ron in a regular basis, though it was giving me shifty eyes from the others in Easy. And when I wasn't with Ron or with Beta, I was with the boys and we would play cards, read each other's letters from home, and just be around each other for company.

"Up in her nest, as usual." I heard Bull reply to whomever was looking for me. My "Nest" was a makeshift little sitting area I made in a familiar tree that was outside my cabin, a tree that I would sit up at every day whenever I would read a letter or just need my introverted time. It was low enough for me to still see what was on the ground, but high enough for me to dangle my feet and let the breeze come through. The bruise on my face was long gone, but the thin scar from the German in the Battle of Carentan was still there and was not going away anytime soon. The boys called my place the "nest" since I was there most of the time and not talking to the others.

"Kit, you up there?" I peered down from the letter in my hand to see Toye at the bottom on the grass, with a huge package in his hand. I grinned, not knowing what it was and where it was from, along with another letter on the top of the package and seeing that the handwriting was from my father.

"You got mail, Kit. Transferred over from England this morning via plane." He explained to me in a huff since the huge package must have been too heavy for him. It was long and thick, almost like a staff was hiding inside underneath the parcel wrapping. I shoved the letter from Jacobs into my pants pocket, hopping out of the tree and landed gracefully on my feet in fort of him. I was wearing my blank bulletproof vest with my tank top underneath, doglegs in the front, my BDU pants and books, and my hair was wavy and short in the blowing in the wind.

"Thanks Toye." I said to him as he handed me the huge package. I grabbed the letter on top, shoving attainder my arm as I started to unwrap the package before Toye. Underneath the wrapping was a long box, having me see a note on the top that was a telegram:

_Lieutenant Kit. Stop._

_This is a present from Artemis. Stop._

_Use it well. Stop._

_Wolf Company is succeeding in the war. Stop._

_Keep up the good work. Stop._

_Winters is highly praising you. Stop_

_Good Luck. Stop_

_Captain Jacobs. Stop._

"What did he bring you?" Toye asked in curiosity as he was still there for me to read it out loud. I shrugged my shoulders as I placed the telegram in my pocket and started to open the package in front of him. It felt rather heavy, almost like a weapon itself as I got the top open, peering inside and a small smile was upon my lips. Of course this was from Artemis, named after the Goddess of Hunter.

A bow staff and a sheath and arrows.

"Holy Shit." Toye said aloud in a gasp as I grabbed both of those tools and placed the package on the floor. The bow and staff were both pristine, almost brand new in a cool shade of black, like my combat attire. The bow itself was slick enough to be used in a fast an precise manner, along with the sheath with a strap to go across my staff and two dozen arrows already stowed and read to use. It was perfect, almost like a good present for me to get in order to keep my moral up.

"You know how to use that thing?" Toye asked me carefully as I got the sheath on over my shoulder and the strap was snug against my chest. It felt good, not as comfortable as my rifle was since I was used to that and not this weight against my back just yet.

"Very well, thanks to some training back at Fort Benning. I don't know why Artemis was me to have one though." I replied back to him as I was examining the bow in my hand, moving the string around to get it loose enough and not longer rigid against my fingers.

"Looks badass though, and you already have a bit of a reputation with what you did out on the field after Carentan." Toye voiced to me as I looked over at him.

"Really?" I asked.

"Sure. Word is going around to the other Companies about you. They're calling you the 'unkillable Kit' with Fox and I Company." Toye spilled the information on me, having me look down at the bow once again. I never really wanted this kind of reputation among the others that were not in my Company. Hell, I technically still wasn't with Easy if I wanted to be real specific about it. I was about Wolf Company, and we weren't meant to be so proud of what we did and how we did things. But now, it was giving me a gut feeling in my chest on how I was being viewed and how I was carrying myself compared to the others. Did it make me look conceded? All I wanted to do was live and survived this whole thing, but be seen as a badass.

"I would hate to ruin that reputation anytime soon." I said in a bit of a lower tone, already thinking about it and how heavy it felt on my shoulders than it did before. If there was one thing that I was good at, growing up with my mother and how she always tried to get me to be in the center of attention, was to hide in the shadows and to not be seen by others.

"Thanks Toye." I thanked him, seeing him smile at me and shrug his shoulders before pointing over to one of the main buildings where we ate food and hung out from time to time.

"You wanna come and play cards with us?" He asked with hope in his tone.

"I'll meet up in a second." I said back to him, seeing him give me a small smile before walking away and over to the main building again. I looked back down at the bow in my hand, thinking of Artemis and wondering how she was doing in her time at the war. But I remember that I had a letter from my father, placing the bow against the sheath on my back and then taking out his letter, seeing the handwriting there and starting to read what he had to say:

_Dear Kit,_

_It's still foreign to me to use that name on you, but I know it's for your own protection since Your identity is sacred there. I miss you terribly here at the house, it's not the same without you playing the piano in the dusky afternoons or in the rainy mornings. Your brothers ask about you all the time, and all I can tell them is that you're doing fine._

_You are doing fine, right?_

_Your mother, God rest her, prays for you day and night and wonders why you are always disappointing her. I have to remind her all the time that she had no authority over you anymore. Let me tell you, your mother was never a patient woman with whomever disagrees with her. It's a slow going process with her, give her time to adjust to what you're doing there in the war._

_I got word from you Uncle that he wishes to write to you as well, I gave him your information and you should be getting something from him sometime soon. I am rather glad that he taught you what you know, better to be prepared than not at all. If there's one thing I give your Uncle credit for, it's his multiple gifts of survival. He has more guts than anyone in his family, including me, and it must have been where you got your stubborness and your need to to survive. _

_We miss you here at home, write back and tell me all that happened. I pray for you constantly and I know the Good Lord is protecting you. I am proud of you, you are far braver than you think. I hope that you got that from me, I really do._

_Your father._

I folded the letter again and I breathed out slowly. The letter was both soothing for me to read and know that my father was on my side, yet it felt uneasy since I was so far from him to just…hug him. I loved my father beyond words. If there was someone in my family whom I would fight for, it would be him. I would doubt he would be proud that I was killing humans left and right, not to mention that it would keep elating a sour note in my chest for me to try and erase and forget when I would sleep that night. But he knew I was trying to do good, not turning evil and not having those thoughts that would ruin my night.

* * *

I walked into the crowded room with the Easy men there, all sitting together with Fox and Dog as Smokey was going up to the front with what appeared to be some kind of story to tell. They all looked cheerful with happy faces on themselves, laughter all around and it felt like we weren't even in a war. I grinned from the sight, having me see both Johnny Martin and Muck look over at me and wave me to come over. They were with Luz and across from Guarnere and they were in their dress uniforms.

"Over here, Kit." Martin said to me as I walked over to sit next to Guarnere and across from Luz, whom flashed a grin at me and gave me one wink. I grinned back at him.

"Hey, Hobbler! Be quiet for the man." Muck wanted Hobbler with a grin on his face as he hushed Hobbler.

"The Night of the Bayonet." Smokey said in such a pleasant manner as we all looked over at him now. We were all quiet then as he had a big grin on his face when he began his tale.

"The night was filled with dark and cold, when Sgt. Talbert, the story's told.." Smokey started reciting his story with us, though I could see Talbert getting red int he face from the mention of his name in the story.

"I don't like this." he muttered.

"Pulled on his poncho and headed out, to check the lines, dressed like a Karut.." I grinned as he said it in such a way like he was reciting it in school, the others still listening in with him going on, "Upon a trooper our hero came, fast asleep, he called his name."

"Oh God.' Smith said in agony.

"..Smith, oh, Smith. Get up1 It's time to take you turn out on the line!" Smokey said with pride. But Smith, so very weary, cracked an eye, all red and bleary, Grabbed his rifle, he did not tarry, hearing Floyd but seeing Jerry…"

"Oh my God!" Smith said even louder now in pure agony from the sheer memory of what he did to Talbert.

"Way to go Smithy!" Someone called out to him in a joking manner and some of us chuckled from seeing him going beat red in the face.

"..'It's me' cried Tab 'don't do it!' and yet Smith charged, with bayonet, he lunged, he thrust, high and low…"

"Oh come on!" Smith was pleading now since he must have been murdering him from the inside out.

"And showered the boy from Kokomo." He ended and I could hear the murmurs going on around us. I looked over to see another set of recruited replacements talking to each other and wondering what the story was all about. They looked new, way too new since they had on clean uniforms and clean cut was all over their faces. One of them with flaming red hair, was drinking down what he had before he was about to get up from his spot behind me when Guarnere looked over at him and paced his fingers against his chest, stopping him from going any further. We all looked at him to see what he was about to do.

"You Heffron?" Guarner asked.

"Yeah." He said back in almost a low tone.

"Where are ya from?" Guarnere quizzed.

"Who's askin'?" The man asked back cooly, almost with the same accent as Guarnere.

"You from Philadelphia?" Guarnere went on with his question. The man eyed him up and down, almost offended.

"South Philly, yeah." He replied. Guarnere moved his fingers from the man's chest slowly. Hell, the man was more like a boy compared to the rest of the fellas around us.

"I can tell," Guarnere said back to him cooly, though the man was still eyeing him as to why he was saying this to him and almost like he was trying to start a fight, "Seventeenth street." As soon as he said that to him, Heffron suddenly busted out a grin and no longer looked concerned or hostile.

"Front Street! Hey!" Heffron replied, having me grin and how childish and innocent he looked with that grin, yet he was still cocky like Guarnene was, who in that moment smiled as well and motioned him to come over and sit with us, across from me and next to Luz. Luz grinned at me from the mere moment of it all as Heffron and Guarnere were talking again about where they grew up, though now Luz was talking to me now.

"So, Toye tells me you got a bow and arrow you in your arsenal." He said to me in a matter of fact kind of manner. I grinned from the sight of seeing Luz smile from talking about that with me.

"I sure do. Perks of being in Wolf Company." I replied back to him smoothly as he took a drink from his cup and we went on to talking the rest of the day there on the bench with the others. It was nice to know that no matter how far away I was from my own father, I was starting to have a family here with these boys. It didn't mat where they came from and what they did before the answered the call of war, they were going to be there for each other and they were going to protect one another. Besides, from what I could gather with my time with them so far, they were considering me as one of them.

They were now my family.


	17. Chapter 17

**September 9th, 1944**

**Aldbourne, England**

"No, try it like this." I instructed Shifty as I was teaching him basic words in Sign Language. We were killing time that day before we were going to head out to the next place. Once we were given the green light to leave France, we made our way back to England, leaving some spare time to teach the men some Sign Language along the way to both pass the time and to have another skill under their belt. I was beyond glad to me out of France for the moment, finding some familiar soil under my feet with the men there and then knowing that I was going to have some kind of meeting with Jacobs and Artemis, whom I knew for a fact would be around here. The others, I had no clue still. But another person that was still around for me to talk to and to confine in was Beta, since Dog Company was still hanging around Easy. This also meant more time to be with Ron, and the more time we hung out together, the more we were getting to know each other.

Ron was much kinder than I thought he was going to be. Not only kind but also had some chivalry behind him in how he would smile at me and walk next to me when we would go on patrol together once in awhile. It was nice to talk to him, but I knew too I had to have some alone time in my own thoughts and with my own demons that needed to be handled. Sometimes it was hard, to find alone time when the others in Easy wanted to hang out with me and get to know me more as the days went by.

"Like this?" Shifty asked me. I looked back at his hands, seeing him try to sign the word _assault_ in front of me. He grinned when I fixed it in front of him. We were sitting in one of the rooms that we were staying in that night there in England, the sun was hanging low in the sky and was about to set over the area as we were sitting together in the room I was staying in.

"Good job," I said to him, seeing him look at his own process before losing back at me.

"Where's Beta anyways?" Shifty asked me in curiosity as I was sitting Indian Style in front of him now, with him folding his fingers in his lap and me cracking my fingers.

"She's having a meeting with some of the men in Dog Company. I'm gonna meet up with her later." I explained to him as he moved his short brown hair from his eyes.

"She seems to be your closest friend from Wolf Company, huh?" He questioned me some more.

"Pretty much, though I'm close to all of the girls in Wolf Company. It's almost like how you boys are close together since you trained and worked together." I replied, having me remember all the times I would train with the girls and make our skills better. Sometimes we were beyond serious, wanting to push ourselves to go farther and farther in our skills, but other times we were goofing around and throwing adjs. at each other. Those were the good times that made me forget about the abusive past I had, not wanting to ever think about it again. Hell. his face was now in my mind and how he would smile, that smile that would make me trust him. It was all raw again inside my stomach and under my skin, and it made me freeze in front of Shifty.

"You okay?" Shifty asked me, seeing me doze off in my own thoughts for a moment. I blinked out of it, nothing thinking that I was going back to that one memory that haunted me for days on end.

"Yeah, yeah I'm good. Just got side tracked for a second." I explained to him calmly.

"Wanna talk about it?" he asked casually. I shook my head.

"Not really, no." I answered him, almost too shorty after he questioned me. For one, I wanted the topic to be dropped, hell, not even bought up. And it was too painful to talk about again. But how I responded to it, it was too quick and too raw to think about and even talk about. Shifty now eyed me, it was no longer playful and no longer kind, it was almost a intense stare that he was giving me. Shit, he knew I was hiding something.

"What is it?" He pressed me, having me wondering if he was going to keep pressing me until he got what he wanted.

"It's really nothing, Shifty." I reassured him more calmly and slower than how I was doing it before. But he shook his head. He knew, he knew something was up, that I was holding something against him. The way he was eyeing me and drilling his orbs into my own was like he was trying to read me like a book,to see if I was lying, I was lying, but I had no idea if he knew that or not. So I waited, the both of us sitting in front of each other and having me wonder if he was going to call me out on it or not.

"You're lying." Great, he dropped the bomb on me and had me feel worse than ever. But it wasn't in the way that I thought he would say it: he wasn't cruel or saying it in a way to make me feel like shit. He said it more like a statement than anything else, almost like he was reading it off a piece of paper.

"Shifty.." I started, not wanting to talk about it anymore, but once again he shook his head at me to show that he as not going to buy this at all.

"You're hiding some thing from me, I can see it on your face." Shifty informed me slowly but having a bit of boldness in his tone of voice. I took in a shaky breath, already feeling the weight of what I didn't want to tell him against me. It was the same weight that I felt when I told my brothers what happened to me. I hated this weight, it was killing me from the inside out.

"Look, it's not that I don't wanna tell you.." I tried to word it out to him, since I knew we were already down the rabbit hole already with this topic, though it was not brought to the table just yet.

"But you don't wanna tell me." Shifty ended it, almost in a blunt manner. I cringed, making a fist in my lap and trying to hard not to both scream and cry from this.

"Kit, I've known you for about a good 2 years now, almost three. I can gurarentee you that you are one of my closest friends here in Easy, if not my best friend. We're close as friends, right?" Shifty asked me calmly, seeing that I was making a fist in my hand and I nodded my head, looking right at him. He gave me a reassuring smile.

"You can tell me what's going on, trust me. I know you're hiding something about your home or your family, since you don't talk about them a whole lot." Shifty reassured me, but I shook my head slowly, thinking that this was going to be hell.

"I can't." I said to him softly, and it almost sounded so broken. He eyed me, concern was now on his face.

"Why not?" He asked, not understanding why this as difficult to talk about with me. I had to trust him, Shifty of all people, that what I would tell them that haunted me in my sleep or within my own daydreams. He was kind enough, good hearted enough, and caring enough to know what was going on in my life. I knew my Easy Company members were like my brothers, and Shifty happen to be the closest brother I had within the war.

"It's too…it's too painful to talk about." I said to him now in almost a murmur. I closed my eyes in defeat, almost like getting socked in the chest again and having the tears be felt there hitting my cheeks. Slowly, I felt Shifty take my hands in his own and squeezing them gently, almost like a reminder that I was not alone in the room.

"Why would it be painful?" He asked, still sounding so kind about it that hateful, but it was then that I opened my eyes and I stared right at him and I could see the hurt and the pain that was there on his face. He was hurt because of what I was feeling? I never saw that i another friend, not like him. Was it because I was crying, or that I was hitting him out and away from me. I breathed out slowly, thinking now was a awkward time to tell him, but better to tell him than leave him out in the dust.

"Before I came to the army, I was engaged to someone," I started with the story, already feeling the pain inside my chest and how this as going to have me end up in tears from the sheer shock of me telling it to him. He was the first in the army that I was telling, not even Beta knew the whole story. She had a notion that it involved a man, but never what really happened.

"It was my mothers idea, to get me engaged and married at a young age like how she was. Anyways, it was fine at first, he was…a good man to have as a fiance," I went on, though it sounded so unreal coming out of my mouth, "But he wasn't all that I thought he was…he was far more.." I cringed, not wanting to really say that word that I wanted to.

"What was he?" Shifty asked, pressing on with the story that I was telling him.

"He was violent." feeling squeeze my hands a bit tighter and hear nothing from his end. Was he shocked? I had no clue but I went on with the information, "He hit me once or twice because I spoke up about him dirking, though my mother convinced me that it was normal for someone to go through when they were a married couple. I tried to look past it, since that's what my mother taught me to do…"

"Kit…" Shifty said to me, almost calling me back from the edge of where I wanted to jump.

"He raped me." I said it out loud, almost like a gasp from my lips and it felt like I was no longer drowning. Because before, when I was holding it on the inside, it made me feel like I was owning underneath the sea with no one was going to help me out of it. But now I was no longer suffering or dying, it felt bitter still but less of a nagging dull pain in my chest.

"Christ." Shifty said in front of me, almost like he was kicked hard in the chest as much as myself. This was already a weird situation, one that I didn't want at all while I was here fighting in a war. I never wanted to tell anyone this and look like a blubbering idiot in front of any of the guys. This must have looked rather great on my part, since I was supposed to have this great big reputation and a huge image about me as the Easy Company sniper and assassin from Wolf Company. What was wrong with me? I promised myself never to tell, yet here I was spilling this whole thing out to Shifty like we were teenagers.

"Kit, look at me Kit." Shifty urged me carefully as he was still holding my hands in his, I finally got the nerve to look at him again. What was he seeing? A shattered assassin who was looking more like a girl than anything else, no longer strong and indestructible. I was thinking that he was going to see me differential now because of how miserable I looked with tears on my cheeks and hitting my jacket and my hands were shaking. But what he did was actually surprising me, since he then pulled my hands towards him and pulled me into my arms.

Shifty was hugging me.

"I'm so sorry, Kit." He said into my hair as he hugged me. I could feel the hug all the way through my body, almost like he was trying to show me in his embrace against my body that he was sorry for what happened to me, how I was damaged and someone would do that to me. I just never thought I would end up hugging Shifty over it and feeling him holding me close like I was about to push him away. A part of me wanted to shove him off of me, to try and pick up the pieces around me again. But then another part of me just wanted to sit there and let this ride out, let this happen with Shifty since I doubted he was going to do anything against me at this point. He was trying to comfort me, and I never though I would get that from another man.

"You don't deserve that." He said to me, still holding me close and having me reach up to hug him back with my fingers against his back, feeling the fabric underneath my fingertips now.

"No one does." I muttered back in a lower tone, almost feeling miserable for dumping this on him.

"You're right, no one does. But especially you, Kit," Shifty explained to me, pulling away to face me again and having me watch him look at me with his kind and soft eyes that were like my middle brother's eyes. Hell, Samuel looked at me the same way Shifty was in that moment, "Is he the reason why you came to the army? You had to get away from him?"

"Well, my Uncle was the one that got me into the army. I escaped my family first by going to him, and he thought the army was the best place for me." I explained to him roughly as I grabbed my jacket sleeve to brush the tears from my face.

"He knew?" Shifty pressed on, still looking concerned as ever.

"Not at first, but my brothers filled him in." I answered back. Shifty paused then, looking down for a seconds like he was trying to collect his own thoughts before he finally spoke up again to look back at me.

"You gonna tell the others?" He said to me in almost a quiet manner, having me shoot him a look of both fear and uneasiness. it was already draining to tell him what happened, and he was just one all of Easy Company. That would wreck me all the way to my core, and that was not what I needed right now in the war. Hell, even saying it to one other person in that moment would tip me over the edge.

"Not right now. Hell…I don't even know if I can." I confessed to him, seeing him shake his head.

"Kit, they're not gonna see you differently from this. We all care about you," Shifty tried to reason with me in such a way that he knew that this hurt, but he was trying to make the situation better, "You're one of us, you really are. We wanna take care of you—"

"Lieutenant Kit." We were interrupted by Lipton, whom stood at the doorway into our room. The both of us shooting up from our spots on the floor, saluting him and seeing him salute us back in return. I was kind of glad that he came and was going to stop this conversation from gong on further.

"Lieutenant, you're requested to join us for a couple of drinks and for dinner with the rest of the officers." Lipton explained to me, having me looking at him with a bit of shock on my face, Shifty looking at me as well. They wanted me to join them for dinner, though it sounded more like I was about to get set up again for another deep conversation like this one. But who was I to refuse. I could do anything to get out of talking this topic with Shifty. Not that I didn't mind his company, but the topic was bad enough that I was in tears in front of him. So I nodded my head and I saw Lipton flash a smile at me before I walked over to him and see him starting to walk down the hallway.

For a brief second, I looked over at Shifty, who was still standing at the area where we were and watching me to make sure I was going to be okay. I could tell he was still trying to drink in all that I told him and all that happened to me, yet he was trying to hold it together. Was it affecting him too? I smiled at him, though it felt more like a broken smile than anything else for me. He smiled back, and I could see the brokenness there on his face as he tried to seem nice to me.

"Please don't tell the others," I asked him carefully, almost like a pleading tone to him to make sure that he wasn't going to tell anyone about this. This was still touchy to me, and I knew that he was;t going too since something like this wasn't going to be spread around like gossip. It was more serious than who was making out with who and what was the new trend. No, he wasn't going to say a word, but I had to be sure.

"I won't say anything, Kit." He reassured me, having me smile a bit brighter at him before walking away and going down the hall. I could feel some relief coming over me still, but it was still a gnawing feeling to feel when once member of your company knows what happened to you, what really happened. But I knew where he was coming from too, before we were interrupted by Lipton. He wanted me to understand that the boys in Easy weren't going to see me differently, they were only going to see me as one of them, a part of their family that they had. I had to see it in that light, I had to let them in somehow and in some way.

"Kit?" Lipton asked as I was catching up to him in the hallway.

"Coming, Lip." I replied back to him as we were walking side by side now. He grinned at me, though there was some hesitance there in his eyes as he watched me in our walk.

"I didn't interrupt you too in your talk now did I?" He asked, since he could tell I was still a bit shaken up from what I was talking about with Shifty.

"No, sir. It's all fine." I reassured him, "Though why do you guys want me there for dinner?"

"We try to have some strategy time with the officers from time to time, and we think we should keep you in the loop as one of our Lieutenants." Lipton explained to me as we were about to hit the stairs.

"What would I have to contribute to the dinner?" I asked him in wonder, seeing him chuckle next to me as we ended on the next floor up , along another set of doors and hearing some chattering behind it. We stopped at the top of the stairs again and he eyed me. Lipton was always reassuring to me when it came to our conversations and our roles as Lieutenants in Easy Company. He was a good soldier, a good leader and had good moral behind him. I admired him for that.

"They can see you're a good soldier, not to mention you have a good heart in you." Lipton explained to me, having me smile and feel a small sense of warmth come over me again from hearing that from Lipton. He was reassuring to me, seeing a goodness in me as well as the other officers seeing the goodness in me. I needed some air from what I talked about with Shifty, so this seemed a bit better for me.

* * *

"So, Kit, the boys are taking a liking to you." Nixon explained to me calmly as we were all sitting together at one of the bigger tables that they had set up. I was sitting with Winters, Nixon, Welsh, Lipton and Ron as they were having some drinks and just talking to each other. I was already out of my element, not only being the only female in the room but also not being a huge drinker. Nixon was the only one who was constantly drinking, having me wonder if he was an expert in the art of alcohol as the rest of us were more casual with our one glass. Winters wasn't the drinking type either, he hasn't touched one drink at all.

"Thank you, sir." I said hesitantly, seeing him eye me and chuckle.

"It's not a bad thing, trust me. We are fortunate to have you with us in Easy." Nixon reassured me, having me see Winters smile at me though he was quiet. I looked over at Ron briefly before I went looking back to Nixon. Ron was smiling slightly too, not too much because I knew that if I did, I wasn't going to be able to hide the fact that I wanted to blush.

"I am very thankful to be part of this Company," I explained to him calmly, folding my hands on the table in front of me as I was seeing the liquor that was poured in my glass in front of me. I wasn't much when it came to drinking, since I never touched it tanks to my mother growing up. But now that I was in the army, I would have a beer with the girls from time to time, though I never went far enough to get drunk.

"We wanted to bring you in what we were thinking about for the future of this Company." Winters spoke up with his soft tone to me fm across the table.

"What did you have in mind, sir?" I asked him.

"Keeping the boys alert for anything that could be coming our way," Winters explained, "Bull is going to be in charge of a couple of the recruits that are coming in and we are hoping that you would be willing to work alongside of him."

"I would love to, sir. Bull is a excellent soldier and a good leader." I replied with a small smile on my face, already thinking about working with Bull in the future and how good it was going to be.

"We know that you're mostly partnered with Shifty," Winters paused after mentioning my best friend, "But we think you can work just as good with Bull with the new soldiers that are already here. You know how to work out there in the field, and we need someone like that with these new boys."

"Agreed," Ron added, having me look over at him now because of how smooth he was talking when I was brought into the conversation. Has he even seen me in action? I never saw him out there in the field fighting, but then again I was more occupied with winning the battle to see him looking at me.

"You're having a good reputation behind you with the men, they can trust you when it comes to winning a battle and making the right decisions." Ron explained to me from his seat, though while he was looking at me, I could tell he too was trying to read me as I took in all that he was saying about it.

"I was trained to make the right decisions," I said back to him, seeing him say nothing as I shrugged my shudders and looked head back at Winters, "I would never want to make one bad decision when it comes to the men in this Company, sir."

"And I believe you, which is why I'm wanting you to work with Bull." Winters added with the confidence evident in his voice now. I felt good that he was seeing me as a good leader, as someone who can lead a group of men and get them in a higher place in the war. Not only that, he wanted me to work with Bull, another close friend of mine that I knew I could do good work with. This was just what I needed, a confidence booster.

"Although, we knew you are still taking orders from captain Jacobs in London, we hope that you still consider working with us." Winters said in more of a hesitant manner, having me sense that some of the officers there in the room were still on the fence with me taking orders from another captain. I knew that was going to be some kind of troublesome thought.

"This is one of the best Companies that I have ever seen come through Fort Benning, and there is no doubt in my mind that I would rather be here than anywhere else, sir." I reassured him boldly.

"Don't tell your Captain that." Welsh said in a snort with a small smile on his lips. I had my smile back on too, though it was small enough to be a smirk.

"There are plenty of things I don't tell him." I joked back with him hearing the chuckles from the other men around the table, all but one. Ron was looking at me, not with a serious look, but with a look of interest. I looked back at him, having me wonder if he was more interested in me. We were friends at this point, if not close enough to have good conversations with left and right on down time, but then again how he would look at me made me wonder rid he wanted more than that with me. Which brought up another question.

Was I ready?

* * *

**September 13th, 1944**

"Nice shot, sir." I was grinning next to the dart board as Bull was walking back to the group of Easy boys who were playing the game together. We were having a night out that night at the local bar, getting some drinks in us and having some relaxation going on there. I could tell we all felt like we needed this break, though the future was still in the balance.

After having the talk with the other officers, the rest of the time in the town with each other, regrouping and keeping our skills up to par. We would practice with out shooting and hand to hand, along with the other routines that we started with. Shifty never spoke about what happened with Gerald again, though now we were just fine leaving the subject at bay and not mentioning it ever again. He was still caring enough to make sure I was okay from time to time, and we would spend time talking about our own families that were good memories, not the ones that made me feel miserable. I was content with Shifty, he was my best friend after all.

"Thank you, Bull." Buck thanked him with his signature smirk as I took a drink from my beer bottle.

"How was the precision on that one, Kit?" Toye asked me in a smirk as Heffron was about to grab his own dart and get ready to shoot.

"Eh, I've seen better from someone who's blind," I joked, hearing the other men chuckle and Buck just smirk at me as I smirked back. He knew I was playing a rouse as they went on with their game and I looked around at the new recruited soldier we had in our Company. Three of them were sitting together at one of the tables, all looking rather fresh and clean cur compared to the rest of us.

"Better start winning money soon, I think you buddies are starting to miss you." Guarnere commented to Heffron, motioning to the men I was looking at.

"Yeah, they do look kind sad, don't they." Heffron added with a small smile.

"They're just serious fighting men, that's all." Bull reassured them with his accent cutting into the room and his grin, looking over at me and winking. He was debriefed that we were going to be working together as leaders with this new recited team that assembled, and he was none the less thrilled to be working with me. I winked back, taking another sip.

"Well, I think I'm gonna go introduced myself." Guarnere said in his tone as he was about to move over there to the new men when Bull stopped him.

"Be careful what you say now. Don't take much to set my guys off." Bull reminded him carefully, though the smile was still on his face. I could tell he was trying to make it light, since the new guys under both of our command were looking rather light and naive compared to the rest of us. It was almost playful and childish, but nice none the less.

"Yeah, you got some wide-eyed killers right there, Bull." Johnny Martin joked with him as the others chuckled from his remark. Guarnere walked over there with his strut in his step, having me watch and see what he was going to do with the men there.

"Hey, Kit! Come over and show us how to do it properly." Buck said over to me, having me tear my eyes away and see him egging me on over there to where they were. I finished off my beer, moving my way off the wall and over to the guys. I was still getting used to Heffron since he was still new in our company, and he seemed more tough than the other newbies.

"You think she can hit it?" Heffron asked Buck in an unconvincing manner, though Buck eyed him and looked over at me as he handed me the dart.

"Don't underestimate our 1st Lieutenant there, Babe." Luz warned him with a chuckle on his lips, though Babe eyed me. I was wearing my own dress uniform with the skirt and fitted jacket, tights and heels though my hair was down and framing my face.

"She is our sniper after all, can take out anyone within a blink of an eye." Toye added with a chuckle in his tone as I could hear the conversation behind me, Guarnere with the new soldiers and how he was talking to them both in intimidation and a dry joking manner.

"Hey fellas. What do you hear? What do ya say?" he asked them.

"Uh, actually, that's Babe's seat. Private Hefforn's." One of them said in hesitance.

"Is that right? I don't care if it's fucking Eisenhower's." Guarnere said back to him in a short remake as Babe was still eyeing me while I brought up the dart in my hand to aim at the target. I only look for one millisecond before I threw it lightly, hearing it hit the target and the boys going out "oooh!" Luz snickered as Buck just smiled and Babe looked dumstruck.

"Damn." Babe said in almost a gasp.

"Way to show off, Kit." Luz joked with me, though I looked over at Babe and tapped him lightly on the chest.

"Grab me another drink, will ya Luz?" I asked him in a smile as he winked and grabbed a bottle for me from another table.

"Don't worry about it, I'm sure you're just as good. Buck, take over from here will ya? I said to Buck, seeing him nod his head and take over on his turn as I walked over to Bull and stood next to him.

"Our new guys are getting the big heat from Guarnere." I said to him in a low tone, as he looked over this shoulder next to me as Guarnere was talking to the boys about a story involving Babe and some pin up on one of the planes.

"He's harmless, and if he does any kind of damage he can answer to me." Bull reassured me in his low tone, though now we were eyeing each other and I raised an eyebrow at him.

"You don't think I can handle Guarnere?" I asked him coyly, though he shook his head.

"I'd rather have him get heated with me than with you." Bull explained to me carefully, having me just smirk at him and clasp him on the shoulder.

"No need to be my knight and shining armor." I joked, hearing him laugh because of my joke. I looked away from him then, seeing someone in the corner of the bar and having me smile to see that it was Ron. He was by himself at the moment, having me move away from Bull and over at him as the rest of the men in the room were talking to each other and having a good evening off. I haven't had the time to talk to him since we had our meeting with the officers in the room, but then again I wanted to avoid him too because I was trying to get my own feelings in check again. When I approached him, he was grinning at me softly like he was expecting me.

"Good to see you, Kit. Looks like you're making more friends within your regiment." Ron commented to me in a casual manner as I shrugged my shoulders.

"Doesn't hurt getting to know your men and what they're like." I replied back to him, though I looked around and I could see he was alone, almost like a force field was around him and the soldiers were nowhere near him, except for me.

"You don't like talking to people?" I asked him, clearly observing that he was having his own alone time at the bar.

"I only like talking to certain people that hold my attention." He comment smoothly, almost like he practiced just saying that to me. I grinned at him, a bit taken back to how forward he was with me, though it wasn't forced.

"So, you like talking to me?" I asked him, though he chuckled with the beer in hand as he took a small drink from the bottle.

"You're interesting enough." He replied back to me, though I was still taken back that he was talking to me like we were on a date. I could still hear the noises in the room, the men talking and laughing with each other, hell I could still smell the stale beer we were drinking, but it all seemed like a dream since then it felt like we are the only two people in the room talking to each other then. Was this some kind of spell that he had on me? Why was I suddenly feeling like I was 16 all over again, though now I was a officer in the army?

"Sounds like you're flirting with me, Lieutenant Spiers." I stated to him, having me keep his stare at me that was soothing and casual.

"Maybe I am." He said it, having me suddenly wish I was somewhere else just to breath. He was flirting with me? Was this legal? He made it seem like it was another night for him, yet I wanted to believe that it wasn't. This made my own heart flutter a bit, something I did'n't expect to happen with him. I just smiled, almost thinking that we were alone together and I can confess to him that I have had thoughts of him that were not in the slightest professional, but none the less innocent.

"I was hoping to ask you something," Ron started, having me take a step closer to him with even thinking about it.

"Sure." I replied.

"I know one of these days Dog and Easy Company will be going their separate ways, and perhaps I could keep tabs on you and your work with the men." Ron suggested with a shrug of his shudders, having me rise my eyebrow at him.

"Do you mean, by writing me?" I asked, almost sheepishly since it sounded so out there for him to suggest just thing between us. He chuckled, though he nodded his head.

"Pretty much." He replied in a causal manner, yet I could see he was a bit hesitant too with the notion of us writing together to keep in touch throughout the war. It felt more like a secret agreement we both were having, though he treated it like everyone else was doing it. Hell, I knew Lipton was writing to his wife, Johnny Martin to his, and so on with the men who were married. But we weren't married, just friends who wanted to stay connected. So why did it feel like he was liking me more than just a friend? Why was I so naive with this? Did I like him back? Were the feelings mutual?

However, I was cut short when I heard something going on behind me back where the Easy men where, but it wasn't something: it was someone. I looked over, Ron going the same and I saw Cobb talking to the new soldiers there, and he had no nice face there. It almost looked like he was about to chew them out, having me groan and walk away from Ron without talking to him. The last thing I need was to deal with an agitated Cobb and his bitterness rubbing off on others.

"It's the Presidential Distinguished Unit Citation. For uh—for what the regiment did in Normandy." Private Miller explained in a worried tone to a hard-faced Cobb as I approached.

"That's right. For what the regiment did. You weren't there." he growled at the private whom looked rather scared in his seat. That was when I saw Bull walking over to him, having me see almost a protective side of him come out because of what was going on to one of his own.

"Hey, hey ease up, Cobb. It's a unit citation." Hobbler warned him carefully.

"Shit, Cobb. You did't fight in Normandy, neither." He said in a low tone.

"I got hit in the plane before I got a chance to jump." Cobb said back to him in a retorted manner.

"Doesn't mean to can act like a dick to them." I said to him in a low manner, having me see Cobb look at me now as I was standing behind the privates who were silent and still in their seats, "I advise you to walk away from my privates now before you get hurt." I wanted to sound civil, but then again the way he was treating my men was not going to rub me in the nice way. He glared at me, standing up straight to face me as Bull eyed him to make sure he wasn't going to do anything to me. He then. with much reluctance on his part, walked away while Smokey was hollering at the men for their attention. I walked around to face the privates now, all three of them and they looked up at me.

"Sorry about that, boys." I said to them in a calmer tone, they all gave me small smiles though they were still in shock as to what went on.

"Boys, this 1st Lieutenant Kit, your other leader in our group." Bull introduced me to them as they smiled at me and waved hello. I waved back, though I looked back at Ron and I swore I saw him smile from what I did. I protect them from another round of hate from one of our members, not wanting to see them get pushed aside. Hell, I would have wanted someone to stick up for me if I was in their position.

Might as well play the part.


	18. Chapter 18

"Operation Market Garden, our next move for you to make is to once again try and take out the German Officers within the area and aid Easy." Jacobs explained to me as we were in one of the buildings, talking together with Artemis behind him equipped with her bow in hand and her sheath on her back. We were setting the new game plan for me since I was going with Easy into the new area in Holland after hearing our new assignment from Nixon earlier that day in our meeting. Jacobs wanted to meet with me and check with me on what I needed to do.

"We are told that this is going to be a cakewalk, no real heavy German Artillery to worry about. But it doesn't hurt for you to keep on your toes." He informed me as I was standing across from him and he was pointing to the map of the town in Holland that we were going to.

"Sir, I am assigned to help newly recruited soldiers that just came in, replacements sir." I informed him about what was going on in my life at that moment.

"Winters explained it to me, and you can help out as much as you can since this seems like a light assignment for Easy compared to Normandy," Jacobs reassured me as I looked over to Artemis who was standing behind him. Her hair was in her tight braid down her back with her bow in front of her, her own arms crossed in front of her and she gave me a kind stare. I could see the bullet earrings she was wearing, the same kind I was given to by Jade. But with Artemis, her jewel that was on the top of the bullet was a mint color, almost a light green.

"I want you to report back to me as soon as Market Garden is finished." He instructed me, having me nod and salute him. Once he saluted me back, I turned on my heel and was about to move out of the room when he spoke up again, "Lieutenant, I was informed that your family has been trying to get into contact with you." As soon as he said that, I froze at the door and let my whole mind going blank within a second.

My family? What did he mean by my family? It sounded more concerning on his part, like this was a bad thing in which it was. I looked back over at him now in hesitance, seeing the look on his face that this could be a serious situation.

"My family, sir?" I asked him in a lower tone.

"Specifically, your father." I was now confused as to why my father now wanted me to come home. From what I remembered, he wanted me to stay in the army. I had to think of some reason as to why he was wanting me to come home. But there was still the notion as to why this was a big enough deal for Jacobs to bring it to me.

"Your father's company is one of our main weapons manufacturers, so he has a way to get a hold of us when it comes to telegrams and letters. Apparently, to one of his recent letters to us, he is asking for you to come home personally. Now this doesn't mean that we are going to send you home because you made this decision on your own and you are sworn into to working with the army until we say otherwise, but we are concerned as to why one of our top weapon makers is begging to have you come home." Jacobs said to me in a low tone, not threatening but seeing how personal it was.

I thought about it, trying to get it all placed together in my head. It still didn't sound like my father, it sounded more like…..oh shit. He then grabbed a spare piece of paper from underneath the map, having me see the typed letter and then handing it to me. I grabbed it hesitantly, looking at the letter and how it was worded. I knew how my father typed his own letters since I worked with him enough to mail his letters and memos to other companies. He had a certain manner of handling his words in one sentence, and the way the words were in this letter were not making sense. This was not him, someone else did this. And I knew just who it was.

"It wasn't my father." I said to him in a calm manner even though I was furious since I knew who would be stooping this low in order to try and get me home. He raised an eyebrow at me, clearly not getting what I was thinking and even Artemis was looking at me in confusion.

"Come again, Lieutenant." He said to me, wanting me to explain it some more to him.

"Those letters were not from my father, sir." I explained to him calmly though my hand was making a fist at my side and the other that was holding the letter. I then crumbled it gently like it was nothing.

"Then do you care to explain to me who would write to us?" He asked, not understanding this whole situation. I eyed him, showing the intensity in my eyes and not wanting this to be a major issue regarding him and myself. I wouldn't think that he was going to take this to heart, and think of this to the point of wanting to give in and send me home.

"It was my mother sir. She used my father's name, quite literally, in hopes to have you officers listen to her and send me home. Sir, I advise you not to listen to her and to keep me here since I am one of your best soldiers and fighters in both Wolf and Easy Company. You'll be losing a good aspect to you Company in order to make this war a success." I explained to him in more of a bold tone. Jacobs he was quiet as I was telling him this because I had no intention of going home anytime soon. It wasn't going to take one letter from my father, or at least my mother under his father's name, to get me scared to want to go home and please them again. Artemis was smirking behind Jacobs, who stood still against the desk to drink in what I told him and then he slowly broke out into a grin at me. I knew that grin, and I knew I won the argument.

"You're right," He said to me pausing before he went on, "You're one of my best soldiers and I ain't send you home yet."

"Good." I said back to him turning my heel once more and walking out of the door. My mother tried, and she failed. It was going to take more than a letter from her under my father's name and company letterhead to get me to come home anytime soon.

She didn't win. Not this time.

* * *

"You look set, you gonna be alright?" I asked Miller as he was getting his jump gear ready for the jump. He nodded his head, rearranging the straps there on his chest and the ones dangling as we were out on the field there near the planes, about to head out to jump into Holland where we were going to head next. Our next target was a small town in Holland where we were supposed to take over and hold in broad daylight. Hopefully, we were going to succeed in this, which will result in us being able to go home at Christmas. We were in hopes that this was going to be a fast and clean job for us to get through, since Nixon was under the belief that we were going to have to deal with old men and young children who were supposed to be there.

"Thank you, Lieutenant Kit." He thanked me sincerely as I smiled at him.

"Just call me Kit, Miller." I advised as I moved away from him and over to the others in our line, having me watch them with my eyes while the rest of our Company was already set to jump. Yet a couple of jeeps were rolling by us as I was standing near Muck and some of the other men. They were all talking together, but I could hear it all stop within seconds as they were looking at who was coming in the jeep. I looked too, not understanding who they were looking at. But once I saw his face, I cringed a bit and stood very still.

Sobel was in the jeep, riding our way.

Now I had no real problems with him, other than him trying to get Winters in more trouble than it's worth, but the others in Easy were not clearly liking that he was there and he was in their presence. It threw them all for a loop, almost like a nightmare that was coming true though I stayed close to Muck as Sobel stopped the jeep and hopped out before he was heading over to the supply car that was behind him and was following him. Yet another soldier was with him in the jeep, one that made the other boys smile from seeing him. It was Popeye, and he was limping from his recent injury after out jump in Normandy out in the green fields.

"Who let you out of the hospital like that, boy?" Lipton asked as he walked over to the limping Popeye.

"They didn't let me out, I busted out. I didn't wanna get resigned to some other unit." Popeye explained to him as Lipton was walking with him over to the rest of the boys, a hand on Popeye's shoulder and smiling.

"Yeah? Can you make the jump?" He asked him in curiosity.

"Sure I can, Lip. I just can't sit." Popeye explained as I moved over to where Bull was and Lip and Popeye were joining us now. Bull was both looking at Popeye and Sobel at the same time, the hesitance there on his face.

"Welcome back Popeye." Bull said to him in his accent of a tone, mostly a hearty welcome as I smiled at him too.

"Thanks, Bull. Good to see you again, Kit." He said to both Bull and I.

"You too Popeye." I said back with a small wink in my eye.

"Popeye went AWOL just in time to jump." Lipton explained to the both of us.

"What's he doing here?" Bull questioned, motioning to Sobel who was near the supply truck.

"Who, Sobel? Well he's the newly appointed regimental S-4." Lipton answered him, having me smirk from the sheer information given to me.

"No shit. Supply officer?" I asked with amusement in my voice.

"Yeah, you got it." Lipton said to me with a small smile on his face as well.

"He picked me up from Aldbourne, trying to find you guys." Popeye explained from his spot.

"He knows you went AWOL?" Bull asked.

"He knows. He just said I was lucky. I could sit out this jump if I wanted. I said I didn't want to. So he says 'hop in.'." Popeye went one some more to us as I was drinking in the information. It didn't sound like something Sobel would do, to overlook someone going AWOL and taking them with him to find the others in his Company.

"Hop in?" I repeated.

"Yeah, I know. I couldn't believe it either. Anyway, maybe he's gonna court-martial me later." Popeye muttered to us as I shook my head from the thought.

"Let get you some gear." Lipton said to Popeye, finally moving away from us as I looked over at Bull with a raised eyebrow, trying to fit all the pieces together.

"It doesn't sound like something Sobel would do in the first place: bring a soldier who went AWOL back to his Company, one he used to run." I commented to Bull under my breath. He nodded in agreement folding his arms in front of him.

"It doesn't, sounds more sleazy if ya ask me." He agreed, then tearing his eyes away from me and having me see his right eyes, "You ready for the jump and what we have to do."

"Ready as ever, though I'm still skeptical about our boys." I explained, the both of us now looking at the new soldiers under our command. They were ready for the jump though some of them were standing around each other in an awkward manner since they had no clue what to do next, almost being too anxious. It made me worry about them if they were ready for the fight that was going to come to them.

"They'll be alright, we can handle these boys and get them in shape." Bull reassured me, squeezing me on the shoddier and then moving away to go and talk to them. I was glad that I was working with him, since he was more optimistic about them, must more than I was. Not that I was doubting them at all, but he had full faith in the newly recruited soldiers to the point of knowing that they were going to do great things and succeed in the upcoming battle. Bull saw the best in people, and I was glad to call him my friend in all of this.

"Kit, wait up Kit!" I heard my name being called, having me look to the left and see Ron walk over to me in his own jump gear. I smiled, glad to see him after seeing a bad case of Sobel, who was talking to Malarky at the moment and already looking rather angry already. Ron stood in front of me with his small smile on his face, having me feel the butterflies once again in my stomach. He had a piece of paper in his hand, more like an envelope in his hand with his handwriting there on the top.

"I wanted to give you this." He informed me, handing it to me as I looked at his handwriting on the top, seeing my name in his lettering and having my heart flutter a bit from just seeing it there on the paper. It was so simple, yet it felt so powerful within my chest and my mind.

"What is it?" I asked, sounding more like an idiot from asking him. He grinned at me, having me see his teeth yet it didn't seem scary in the way he smiled, it seemed more casual.

"I wrote you a letter, thinking that I was going to send it to you and not see you before the jump. Hopefully you can write back, just in case we don't see each other." He explained to me though now I was looking at him in confusion.

"You still want me to write to you?" I asked him, making sure I was getting this right.

"Of course, I have always enjoyed your company and I'll be missing it." Damn, he knew how to talk and make me feel like mush. I had to hold it together then as I slowly looked down at the envelope once more before placing it in my jacket pocket, knowing it was going to be safe from the jump. It kind of felt like we were classmates and we were about to send notes backs and forth in class, though that only happened to be once or twice when I was a little girl. But now I was a woman, not a girl anymore, so why was he making me feel like this.

"Thank you, Ron." I thanked him, seeing him nod his head at me. For some reason, I wanted to reach out and just touch his hand, since I felt like he would be someone whom would want to comfort a friend. Hell, we were friends at this point after hours of talking with each other and hearing about our past lives, the things I wanted to tell him and knowing more about him that I did before. We were close enough to not only call each other friends, but rely on each other on the field during a battle. I could rely on him saving my life, and I hoped he would think the same.

"Hopefully I'll see you soon." I said to him in an honest manner though he looked a bit taken back from what I said to him as he then looked down at my own hand. He touched it, linked our fingers together for a brief moment and having me feel as though my heart was going to burst into thousands of pieces from our skin making contact. I never had that with someone before, not even Gerald. With him, it was a small flutter in my chest as if there were butterflies were there. But now, with Ron and I holding hands before we were about to jump into Holland, it felt more like an explosion going off under my skin. What was this feeling anyways? Was I liking him as more than a friend? Is that why I felt so frozen there as he was just holding my hand in a way to show that he cared for me and he wanted me to be okay. At least that's what I felt in the hold, that he cared for me as more than a friend. Did he?

Within a moment, he moved away from him, giving me one more smile before walking away from me and over to his men in Dog Company. I was frozen in my spot with my mind still reeling from him holding my hand, and I released my shallow breath that was holding in. This was going to be too much for me, and one of these days it was going to get me in trouble. I looked around to see what was going on, though now I was once again making eye contact with Joe Liebgott since he was in his own jump gear. Did he see the whole thing that happened with Ron and I?

"What did he want?" He asked in almost a gruff, but none the less curious as I could feel the litter within my jacket pocket, snug against my chest as I shook my head and shrugged my shoulders. He doesn't need to know since I doubted I wanted to have another person judging me.

"Don't know. He just wanted to talk is all." I replied back to him though he was still giving me that uneasy for me to get used to. He was still trying to read me, hell he was the same with anyone that was not close enough to him.

"You look like you need a smoke anyways." He said to me, fishing out his pack and then grabbing a stick out for me as I was about to protest to him, yet he already held it out for me before I could say anything to him.

"Thanks." I thanked him snagging the cigarette smoothly from his fingers as I then fished out my own lighter. After I lit my cigarette and inhaled, I looked over at Sobel once again and how he was still talking to Malarky, Joe looking too as he was about to smoke his own stick.

"What the fuck is he doin' here?" Joe asked me, exhaling his smoke through his teeth.

"He's the new supply officer." I said back to in him a lower manner, not wanting to let it linger out between the two of us. Joe eye me, a bit of the shock on his face.

"No shit, supply officer?" He asked me with a small smile on his face. I smiled back, already thinking about how hilarious it was that the once infamous officer was now getting supplies, almost didn't even sound fair on his end. Joe started to chuckle, right in front of me, having me eye him and smile widely at the sheer sight of him laughing with me. It felt nice then, the both of us joking around and laughing at Sobel.

"Wow, that's kind of a big blow to the ego, ain't it?" He asked me in a snort and I giggled next to him, moving my rifle on my shoulder around a bit.

"Never thought I would see him with such a sour face." I added to the conversation and Joe nodding in agreement.

"You should have seen him when Luz impersonated Major Horton back in England when we were training. Holy shit, they guy looked white in the face like he was about to puke." Joe went on, having the both of us chuckle again next to each other as we were about to have our last smoke before the jump. It was nice to have a good laugh with him though we were still trying to work out our likeness to one another. So I eyed him then, almost finished my own stick between my fingers.

"I might need an extra pair of eyes out there in Holland with this new battle coming, up," I started, seeing him watch me again as the smoke exited through the corner of his mouth, "You willing to help me out with Shifty?"

"Aren't you going to help Bull with your new replacements?" He asked me, not understanding why I wanted his help.

"I am, and also trying to take out German Officers as I go. Maybe you can help me find those guys since we both know German." I explained to him smoothly, having me see him think about it and the wheels turning in his head. He must have thought I was crazy for asking for his help. Yet I held out my hand between us and he hesitantly shook it.

"Sich Beschäftigen?" (Deal?) I asked him, having him hear my German for the first time. He shook it and have me a solid but serious stare.

"Ich werde dir helfen." (I'll help.) He replied, having me smile and pull my hand away before I flicked the cigarette butt onto the floor and dug it into the earth with my shoe. The conversation was done, but on a good note as I walked away and back over to Bull who was talking to Garcia and getting him squared away with his own equipment. As the days were going by my relationship with Joe was getting better and better, though it was slower in development compared to the other guys there.

"Come here, come here. Sling it up and down. When you hit the ground, your knee'll hit the buck, the pieces under'll break your jaw. All right, does your reserve, you won't need it, we're jumping low. Take your belly and wrap it around you. You're fine." Bull explained to Garcia as he was giving him the rundown with his equipment that both a fast but responsive pace at the same time. I grinned at the sight of Garcia trying to keep up with him as he was talking fast, yet when Bull walked away, Garcia analyzed his own equipment and tried to get it pieced together in his head. So I decided to walk over, standing in front of him and he eyed me with his big eyes.

"You're gonna be fine, Garcia. You'll know what to do." I reassured him, "Just remember what Bull and I taught you and stick with us. We'll keep you alive out there."

"Yes, Ma'am." He replied even though I shook my head.

"Just Kit. Call me ma'am when I'm forty." I said in a playful gesture to him as he chuckled.

* * *

**September 17th, 1944**

**Holland**

I landed on the ground with ease, feeling the grass underneath my boots and near my fingers as we were dropping in now in Holland, England was far gone behind us now with the sun beaming down through the clouds and the plenty of planes over us, seeing the specks of men jumping out and their chutes going off to have them fall gracefully onto solid land. I even took a pause to look, the sun was scattered and littered with men falling slowly with their parachutes out. It reminded me of rain almost, how there were so many of them descending to the ground in such quietness compared to the roaring of the planes.

Webster landed near me, having me see him tear coming off his chute before he shoved it in his bag along with his knife he had on his boot and running off. That's what I had to do next: run with the men and get ready for what was lying ahead. As the men were landing and started to run, I looked up and around to find any of the replacements under my command with Bull, not seeing them yet.

"Damn," I said in a mutter.

"Come on, Kit. We gotta move." Luz said to me as he was running over to me along with Malarky and Penkala. I joined them, the group of us started outrun along the tall grass and open field when we were dodging the other men who were about to land on us from their jump. I then saw one of them, finally, and he was getting his own chute off and I grinned. Garcia made it safe and sound, already prepared and getting his bearings ready. But I then witness Bull running over to Hashey, one of our replacements under our command, and helping him out of his chute contraption which was stuck to him.

"Sorry, Sergeant." he said in a low tone, almost sounding defeated as Bull got the thing off of him.

"Don't be sorry. Grab your rifle, let's go!" Bull replied back to him in his gruff manner, I smiled, already liking how Bull was handling the situation as we were then diving ourselves into one of the ditches along the road, where it was deep enough for us not to be seen. I climbed in with Penkala, Malarky and Luz, more towards the back as I peered over them and up to where the front was. I could see some of my recruited soldiers there, and I smiled since they all looked okay from their jump.

"You know, your new kids are doing okay." Malarky commented to me out of breath since we bolted from our jump. I nodded in agreement.

"That they are, almost like how you boys did in your first jump." I joked with him as Luz chuckled.

"Good thing they have you to whip them into shape." Luz said in his smirky manner and I shrugged my own shoulders just to get feeling back because of the chute straps almost cutting them off.

"Eh, that's Bull's job." I answered him back.

"Then what's your job?" He asked.

"Making sure he doesn't screw it up." I replied, the boys smirking as I crawled up and down the line of men who were still down low from being seen. I could see my friends as I passed them: Muck, Percent, Jonny Martin, Shifty whom smiled at me as I tapped his shoulder, Doc Roe who nodded at me once when I squeezed his shoulder to show that I was there, and plenty others too. Once I got up to where Bull was, I could see the cigar in his mouth and him analyzing the area with his eyes.

"What's the next move?" I asked him in my lower tone, not wanting to be too loud.

"Just to sit tight and wait," He replied, then looking over at me and having me see the cigar poking out of his mouth, almost making him look like he was doing this nonchalantly, "Your jump went okay, Kit?"

"Perfect jump." I replied, sharing someone behind us walking up. We both looked, having us see Hobbler with what looked like a couple of bottles in his hand and and a smirk on his face as he was crawling over to us, sitting behind me in the ditch and looking at the new men.

"I think I love Holland." he declared.

"Where'd ya get those?" Hashed asked as Hobbler was passing out the bottles to the boys, then handing me one and having me try to open it with my jacket sleeve.

"That farmhouse over there. Just sitting out in the open. I don't know, maybe they were expecting us." He explained as he sat back, then having us hear another person walking up to sit near us. I peered over the helmets of the men and I found it was Webster, having me grin as he looked at everyone.

"Hello, boys! I made it!" He said in a light manner as he too made a spot in the ditch. I was glad to see him, though I wanted to talk to him when we heard the planes overhead flying past us and out into the distance, the roar almost shaking the ground beneath us and giving us a freight as we all looked.

"There goes air support." Webster said in almost a lower register then, having me look too. That kind of made me feel a bit uneasy, that we were going to loose our air support within seconds and having no sense of security if something were to go wrong. It made me feel a bit sick in my stomach.

But then again, everything about this war was making me sick in my stomach.

* * *

**Eindhoven, Holland**

"Keep Moving! Keep Moving!" Peacock was screaming at us as we were finding ourselves in the middle of what looked like to be a festival in this small town. Orange was everywhere, people were crowing the streets and flower petals were falling on us as we were trying to wave our way through still in our jumping gear and rifles on our shoulders. It felt uneasy, almost like this was some kind of trap. But people were coming up to us, hugging us and kissing us on the cheek like we were some kind of savior to them though it felt like we were invading their own happy memory.

Some of our men were getting kissed by girls, whom were swooning over them in seconds and I laughed at seeing some of the soldiers in a daze after receiving a kiss from a stranger. Others were trying to shove them for nicely though my helmet was down and I felt a couple of the guys sneaking in a kiss on me once or twice. Both times felt violated since I was instantly thinking of Gerald and It made me freeze up and look petrified. The way they kissed me on the cheek almost felt forced, and that's how I felt like it was making me sick. Luckily, I felt someone grasp my arm and I looked to see it was Shifty.

He saw them trying to kiss and me freezing up in return, almost punching them out of reflex. He was starring me away from them though they were kind enough to walk on. I was thankful he saw me reacting and wanting me to step away, and I knew why hew as doing that. He knew what happened to me and how I was damaged with what happened, and he was going to try and make sure I was okay. Bless Shifty, having me stay close to him as we were moving through the crowded streets and I felt him take my hand in his, almost like a vice grip.

"You okay?" He asked me over the noise, having me nod my head and smile at him.

"Thank you." I thanked, seeing him nod his head once and we both walked on. I meant more than that, for his protection and kindness that he wanted me to be better than I was before. Hell, he saw me breaking down into tears from just telling him the story, and he was accepting of that. A chant was now being overheard in the crowd, having both Shifty and I look around to see where it was coming from and who was saying it. I tried to pinpoint the location, but then we saw a mass huddle of people around a small opening or a circle near the side of the festival.

"Come on." I urged to Shifty, the both of us moving over there and trying to get through the crowd as we heard the chanting getting louder, from the people outside the circle. Once we were looking, I stayed stone quiet as I saw women, on their knees with blood on their hands and knees, being shaved and their dresses being ripped by men with yellow bands on their jacket sleeves. Some of them were in tears, others were quiet, but each of them resulted in being bald and the Swastika was drawn on their forehead. I cringed from the sight, though now I felt Bull next to me as we were watching in silence.

"What did they do?" Welsh asked from his spot near Winters and Nixon. The answer was the one that hit me hard in the gut.

"They slept with the Germans." One of the Dutch men replied with a shrug of his shoulders, "They are lucky. The men who collaborated are being shot."

Lucky. That's a fragile word these days.

* * *

I was walking with Hobbler over on our patrol that night, having me rub my eyes and wish that I was fast asleep, but they wanted me out with the patrol to have an extra pair of eyes and ear for anything that was German running around. Hobbler was going to go and fetch Webster and Van Klinken, asking if I wanted to join. I decided to join since walking around with those guys was better than walking around alone. I needed some cold air in my lungs anyway and to get my mind cleared from all that I saw that day. Hobbler was leading the way and I was right behind him, rifle in hand as he saw two bodies against the tree, looking up and almost falling asleep. I grinned, seeing one of the faces to be Webster and the other was Van Klinken. Hobbler walked over to them with a swagger in his step.

"Hey, Van Klinken, Webster. Sleeping outside is for suckers, guys" Hobbler said to the both of them as Webster yawned. I chuckled as they looked at each other and shot up, rearranging their clothes and getting they rifles on their shoulders as we were walking again.

"You look like you were about to pass out there, Web." I commented to him, seeing him roll his eyes.

"I was quite comfortable, Lieutenant Kit. It's not too bad outside, plus I'd rather out be inside a room with a bunch of snoring assholes any day." Webster answered back, Hobbler giving him a look over his shoddier.

"I don't snore!" He retorted in a hushed sound.

"You don't, but Luz and Cobb do and it's annoying as hell." Webster explained, moving his neck around as he was now grumbling, "This better be good, I was almost asleep." We kept on with our trek, going through the trees and seeing a small hours up ahead with what looked like a storm shelter on the side of the house, the doors suddenly opening and all of us having our weapons out in case it was someone whom we didn't want to see. It was a man, a civilian and he was about to hop out when Webster spoke up again with his German now.

"_Raus! Hände hoch! Mach schnell_!" (Get out! Hands up! Buck up!) Webster said to the men as he suddenly shot his hands up and had his head down.

"_Niederländer! Niederländer_!" (Dutchman! Dutchman!) he cried to us, almost thinking that we were going to shoot at him at that moment. He sounded so scared.

"_Sprechen Sie English_?" (Do you speak English?) I asked him with my own authoritative tone to it. He looked up at us now, scanning the four of us and nodded his head at a fast rate.

"Ja. A little bit." He answered in English, having us lower us weapons slightly.

"What were you doing down there?" Hobbler questioned.

"It's an air-raid shelter. My family has been in there ever since the first plane flew over.' He explained to us as he pointed to the night sky above us with one finger.

"We're Americans. Paratroopers." Van Klinken informed.

"The Germans? Are gone?" The Dutch man asked in hope in his tone.

"We think so. You see any, you let us know." I explained to him calmly, and he noted his head at me though now he was a bit shocked to see that I was a woman with a group of men there, holding a gun and looking more fierce than ever.

"Are you here to stay?" He asked more in a curious fashion.

"As long as we have to." Van Klinken answered.

"Yeah, they don't tell us very much." Webster confessed.

"Or feed us much." Hobbler said, having me want to glare at him since it sounded like he was hinting that he wanted him to feed us. The Dutch man froze for a second and then he told us to wait before he walked off back over to his head. I felt kind of bad for him, having four soldiers in front of him with guns and we requested him to bring us food, that would scare me half to death.

"You see that? I saw screw Paris." Van Klinken said as Webster walked away from us over to the house a few steps.

"Hey, don't talk about screwing alright?" Hobbler advised him with a smile on his lips. Webster turned back to us.

"They all speak English, they all love us. What a fantastic country." He commented to us as I walked over to where he was too.

"Better here than in Germany I suppose." I added as the Dutchman was coming back with bottles in his hand which consisted of olives and other jarred food. We all took one and thank him, having me get a small jar of pickles and grinning. He was beyond kind to give us these, almost like he was showing his own sense of hospitality in the peak of the war. I was glad that he did that as I thanked him with a smile on my lips and looking at the pickles in my hand. He then looked over to the storm cellar door, hearing something or someone in there and calling them out. Watching, I saw it was a small Dutch child, a boy who looked like he was about 7 or 8, crawling out and seeing on the edge of the cellar and sitting so quietly. Webster smiled, having me witness him walking over slowly as Hobbler got out a cigarette.

"Cigarette?" He asked the man, who accepted it as I walked over with Webster and he squatted down in front of the boy. The young boy wasn't scare,d he just watch us as Webster grabbed someone out of his pocket and then handed it to him, having me hear the Dutch man walk over to sit next to the boy and open it for him.

It was Chocolate.

The boy took one big bite, chewed it for a bit and then grinned from ear to ear at Webster, still holding the chocolate with both hands as the Dutch Man looked from the boy over to Webster and myself.

"He never tasted chocolate." he explained, both of us looking over at him with some shock there. Such an innocent young boy is not being able to have on a piece of chocolate, all from maybe the war or that he wasn't rich enough to buy one bar of the dessert. It made me smile from seeing the enjoy on his face, reminding me of when I was a child, or my brothers when they were still young and having chocolate with our father. It was so young and innocent for us to see though we were still in a war, and I wondered if we were going to ever see something like that again.

"It's pretty good, isn't it?" Webster asked the boy softly as he took another bite and chewed on.

I hope it was good for him. Because it was for me.

* * *

**Operation Market Garden.**

This was literal Hell. Because all that could go wrong.

Was going wrong.

I was next to Bull when it started, our men were hiding around a corner as we were both created behind two brick pillars, hearing nothing at first and then looking around to see if we were going to lead into a trap. It was scary not hearing anything at all, yet we were trying to find out where they were hiding. Martin, Babe and a lot of the other men were on the other side of the road, Bull signaling them that there was one take in hiding, under some haystacks and being sneaky about it. Martin took Babe with him over to the two tanks that were on our side, English Sherman tanks and they tried to talk to them as I was stay close to Bull. This was not good at all.

"We stay here longer we're gonna get killed." I said to him in a whisper as he nodded in agreement. We both looked over and saw one of the tanks already rolling forward with Babe and Martin watching in awe as the tank was about to be shot at,

"What in the hell's he doing?" Bull said in shock as the tanks were rolling, the second one now was shot and bursted into flames. We all shook from the sound, almost deafening as Bull suddenly looked back at the man. We were going to be seen, and we were going to be killed. I could see Babe trying to hide one of the wooden faces to not be blown over by the blast.

"Babe!" I screamed.

"Forward!" The driver of the first tank yelled as Bull motioned to our men behind us.

"Fall back!" He yelled at our men, seeing them scatter as both Bull and I were about to join them when the German tank shot again, hitting the corner and blocking Bull and I from the others. We were the only two left out int he open now. Shit.

"Run!" I said to Bull, his helmet was off and the dirt still falling over us as we were about to get over to our boys when we heard gunfire right at me, stopping us from going any further in our tracks and having us bolt in the other direction. Someone from high above was trying to get Bull and I, and this was going to make us run even faster as we were sprinting along the second English Sherman tank and hearing German soldiers around us. Where were we going to go?

"Go right, go right!" he yelled at me as we were still under heavy fire, almost getting too close to being hit. I didn't want to leave him, but he grabbed my jacket and shoved me over to where one of the farmhouses was.

"Go!" He instructed me, having me about to yell back when another tank went off and to hit a building across from me. The blast was enough to push me off my feet and stumble into the house without anyone else seeing, knocking the air from my lungs and having me cough from the dirt and the blast against my chest. For a second, lying in the darkness of the room where I felt hay underneath me, I thought I was as good as dead. But I blinked, still looking at the ceiling and then I started tapping my chest and legs. Nothing was hit, I was alive.

But where was Bull?

"Kit! Where are you Kit?! Answer me, damn it!" I got up from my position on the floor, sitting up straight as I heard someone running over to where I was, standing in the doorway and looking over at me. At first, all I could see was a lanky shadow, but I then saw who it was from his voice.

Liebgott.

"You okay, Kit?" He asked as he walked over and grabbed my arm, pulling me up with one hand as the other was holding his rifle. I nodded, still out of it and feeling my rifle dig into my back from hitting it hard against the floor. I was covered in dirt from head to toe and scratches were on my face and hands from the tank explosion near me. He looked dirty too and I could have sworn I saw his face laced with concern there as we were standing there in the dark room, the bombs and the battle were still going off behind us.

"Yeah, I'm good." I said back to him with a gasp, "Where's Bull?" When I asked him this, the color on his face went pale like I punched him in the gut.

"I thought he was with you." he said to me, having me now worry about Bull and if he admit out of harm's way. We heard more gunfire and we both rushed over to the side to get out of the way. I peered over and out into the open, Joe behind me with his own rifle out as I was looking to see where the rapid firing was coming from. It went off again, having me follow the noise and see that it was coming from two soldiers, on top of a roof of a bigger building and they had a machine gun. Quickly I grabbed the scope for my gun, got it on the top and held up my rifle to look through. I looked over to see the two soldiers, Germans, and they were looking for someone to shoot. We were not looking good for the battle anyways, and they were the main reason why.

"I need to take those guys out, wanna cover me?" I asked Joe as I looked away from the scope and over to him. He nodded.

"You got a plan?" He questioned to me as I got out my pistol and threw my rifle back over my shoulder to be against my back. If I knew what I was going to go, it consisted of running for dear life and not looking back.

"Yeah, run like hell." I replied back to him, looking back at the building once more and trying to find the best route. It was a long shot along the buildings, and if we were fast enough, we could get inside and go up to take them out.

"You lead, I'll follow." He reminded me, having me wipe off the sweat and some blood on my hands before I dug my toes into the earth to get a good running start. After I released my breath, I bolted out of the house and down the street along the buildings, Joe was right behind me and keeping up with me compared to the others as some of the Germans were trying to shoot us. We were too quick, almost getting knicked once or twice before we reached the target building where the machine guns are us were still firing on our Company. Joe and I busted into the floor, having me shoot two of the soldiers and Joe getting three. they all fell to the floor within seconds.

Ground floor, secured.

"How many floors is there here, Christ." Joe said in a gasp as we heard the machine gun above us on the roof, having me both bolt over to the stairs and start the climb. When we were on the second level, we heard more Germans on the fourth floor and we both peered up, one of them on the forth floor peering over the railing at us with a rifle in hand.

"Back!" I said to Joe in a rush as we both bolted out of the way before the gunfire came about, covering our heads from the flying wood pieces of the railing being hit and the ground marble being sliced from the bullets They were trying to keep us trapped and I had to find a way to get up there. I threw my rifle into my hands, scope there and I waited for the firing to stop. I had a two second window, aim and shoot. Once it was over. I bolted to the railing, looked up and shot once, hearing the German cry out as I killed him against this railing.

"Fuck me." Joe gasped as I looked back at him.

"Come on." I urged him as we bolted up two more flights tot get to the top floor. I looked around to find some kind of way to get to the roof but not seeing anything in my line of sight. It was when I heard the men yelling in German and the gunfire behind us, the sound coming from behind a closed door that we both looked and we ran over there, having me grad a grenade and place a handle on the door without making a sound. I took off the pin, threw open the door and tossed in the grande before shutting in and we both ran to the other side of the room in time for the grenade to go off. The booming sound almost took down the floor we were son, having us cover our heads from the fallen debris and wait until the smoke and rubble cleared. We heard nothing.

"Did we get them?" Joe asked me in a hushed tone as we got up from the rubble, hearing footsteps hear the blown open door that was now a hole big enough to fit a jeep in. I got one knife as Joe cocked his rifle.

"Not yet." I said to him as two soldiers ran over out of the darkness of the hole we made. I chucked the knife, getting him in the chest as Joe shot down the other soldier in two hits. The soldier I nailed was gasping for air as I ran over to him with my rifle pointing at his temple while his buddy was as limp as a rag doll next to him.

"_Wo ist das Maschinengewehr_?" (Where is the machine gun?) I asked him in a bolder manner, hearing him cough as he said nothing to me with a glazed look in his eye.

"_Antwort! Jetzt_!" (Answer! Now!) Joe said to him now, having his own rifle up and ready to shoot at any time. The soldier was now pointing at him, in the darkness to where we believed was rooftop access to where the machine gun was. I looked too, hearing nothing from the other side of that back hole as I moved away from him while I looked back at Joe who seemed to want to kill the soldier then and there.

"Come on, let him bleed out." I said to him as Joe moved away reluctantly and over with me. We both climbed into the hole, seeing nothing at first but a small swivel of light up bit. I moved, placing my hand in front of me to feel if something was in front of me as the light was getting closer. There must have been a door there, once I touched it creaked out slightly and I froze. Once again, hearing nothing, we pushed it open with our hands and peered into the right sunlight and feeling the cool air about us. We were on the roof and we had the machine gun now in our possession. I climbed up to the roof, feeling the brick underneath me as Joe climbed up too, the both of us looking down at the scene below us. I sighed in defeat, seeing that we had no real chance of winning this battle and having me then suddenly panic.

Where in the hell was Bull?


	19. Chapter 19

I was pacing back and forth within the farmhouse, biting my nails and trying so hard not to just run out into the field and go find Bull myself. After Joe and I got back down from the building that we took over and took for Bull. It was nightfall, and after admitting defeat, we had to vacate the area and find ourselves out of harms way within farmhouses and rolling hills, and with the fog coming in, we had nowhere else to go. We had to say still, but that wasn't sitting well with myself and the couple others in our Company that were close to Bull. Especially Johnny Martin, who was fuming when we were told not to go anywhere.

I was just as pissed.

"Kit, you need to stop pacing. You're gonna make a track with your damn boots." Luz advised me as I was pacing in front of him, Martin, Joe, Lipton, Doc, Shifty and Sisk as we were all meeting in the farmhouse, hearing the distant bombs going off from the Germans since they were bombing the very town that we were at and where the festival was held. Now it was in ruins, which made the night even more bittersweet for us.

"We need to find him." I said in almost a statement.

"No shit, we are trying to get out there, Kit." Johnny said to me in a calm manner though his arms were crossed in front of him and the infamous bitch face was there. Shifty looked a bit worried about me pacing back and forth and almost being the verge of having a nervous breakdown because one of my good friends was missing and nowhere to be found.

"He could be hurt." I said back to him in a worried manner.

"You know Bull, he can take care of himself." Lipton explained too in a calm tone, but I shook my head.

"That's not good enough." I muttered back to him almost too bitterly.

"You don't have control over this." Joe reminded me with a hint of edginess in his tone. I looked over at him as he was eyed me, leaning against the farmhouse wall alongside Shifty.

"Kit," I heard my name over from Shifty, who was watching me the whole time while I was almost having a breakdown over the disappearance of my good friend in the Company, "Kit, he's fine. You know he's fine, right?"

"Yeah…" I trailed off, stopping my walking around the ground of the farmhouse and then taking in one deep breath. I knew I had to say calm about this, mainly because we still had the replacements that were alive and looking for me now for guidance and leadership. I had to remind myself that because Bull was gone, at God knows where, I had to keep my head on straight and remain a soldier.

"You need to get some air?" Luz asked me yet I wanted to go run out there by myself and try and find Bull myself. But that would be a stupid move for me to do since I had to think of the good of the Company, not just myself.

"I'm gonna go find Garcia and Hashey to make sure they're okay." I replied back to him, seeing him watch me and nod his head, "Better for them to know they still have a leader to follow than to be left out in the dark."

"I'll go with you to check up on the others." Lipton said to me with a small smile, the both of us walking out of the farmhouse and hearing nothing from the other men in there. The cool air hit my face, not to mention the haunting scent of the burning town far away from us that as carried over to where we were hiding that night. But all I was thinking about was Bull, since the last time I saw him he told me to move out of the way from being shot. He ran off like a bullet to not get hit, yet he made it seem like it was nothing. I was praying that he was alive and okay, wherever was he.

"If I know Bull, and I do pretty well," Lipton said to me as we walked along the grass and through the low fog that was coming in, "He can take care of himself when it comes to survival. Hell, the guy knows how to take care of himself and knows how to stand on his own compared to the other guys in Easy."

"I know he can." I agree with him though he was still looking over at me with some worry on his face.

"And I don't think he would want you to worry about him." Lipton added carefully, almost to make sure that I wasn't going to yell at him. However, I stayed quiet and kept walking ahead with Lipton next to me. I knew he was telling the truth: Bull would not want me to be worried about him. He would want me to take care of our boys and make sure that that they were okay. I would want to make him proud at this point, not mad at how I was fretting over him.

We walked on some more, getting close to some of the men who were digging ditches and getting ready to camp out for the night. I was scanning the men with my eyes to see where Hashay and Garcia were if they were doing fine given the circumstance. Once we reached the area where the boys were, Lipton stopped me and had me look over at him.

"I'm going to talk to Nixon and Winters about Bull and see what we can do." He reassured me, having me see him analyze me to make sure that tI was going to be okay with all that was happening. I smiled at him softly, seeing him then walk away from me then and I looked over at what was in front of me. All of the boys were shoveling out the dirt there to get their spots ready to go. I could tell that the battle we just endured was saying on all of them, the weariness was evident all over their faces and in how they were talking and walking next to each other. It took me a moment until I saw both Garcia and Hashay, along with Cobb, Hoobler and Webster, all sitting together and looking a bit out of it. I took in another deep breath to make sure that I was ready for them and I walked over slowly,

"Heya, boys." I said to them in a light manner, seeing them all look at me now as I was standing over them.

"Hey, Lieutenant," Hashay said back to me in a low tone, sounding a bit tired himself and weary, I just smiled at him softly, not wanting to be so serious at this point in time, "You hear anything from Sergeant Randleman yet?"

"Nothing yet, Hashay." I confessed, sharing Garcia shuffling a bit with his weapon in hand and Hashay looking at the ground. They wanted to know where he was, like me, and they also wanted to make sure that he was okay. So I wasn't the only one in the boat at that point in time.

"But I know Bull, and he's not going to want his own men moaning and bitching over him," I said in a gruff manner, almost in his accent to lighten the mood. Both Hashay and Garcia smiled and Webster chuckled from what I was doing, though I kept my grin on my face as I squatted down in front of the two replacements, "But he'll be okay, alright?"

"Yeah." Garcia replied for the both of them as I heard footsteps behind us, having me look to see Guarnere. He was walking over to us, standing next to me and looking down at the boys now with his serious look on his face.

"Hoo, any news on Bull yet?" Guarnere asked Hobbler though he shook his head and no one within our group said nothing.

"If there ain't no body, then there ain't nobody fucking dead! Understand me?" He asked them all, almost trying to get them back to reality now since they all looked so depressed about it. I knew where he was coming from, trying to snap them out of it and get them back on their A Game. I watched the men then to see what they were going to do, though Hoobler was the one who hopped up then with determination in his stance and eyes.

"I'm gonna look for him." He said in a stern manner.

"Not by yourself you're not, I'll go with you. Let me get some ammo." Guarnere said to him as Hobbler was about to leave. I got up too since they were about to go out there I was not going to let them go off on their own without my own help.

"That's okay. I'll go." Hashay reassured Guarnere said as I looked at him then over to Hashay. He too looked determined as Guarnere smiled.

"Me too." Garcia said in agreement. It was a stirring moment to see my replacements standing up to find their leader within the darkness of Holland. I wonder why I never had enough faith in them, since they were fresh in the air and already went through a hell of a battle where our asses were whipped, but they were still willing to wander out together to find one more soldier whom they cared for.

"All right. Go get him." He said to all three of them, and I was about to go over there with them when Guarnere stopped me with his hand on my chest.

"You need to stay here." He informed, having me raised an eyebrow at him.

"Why?" I asked, not understanding how I was going to be left behind when they were going to go off.

"Because you're a 1st Lieutenant, that's why. You are an officer that we cannot afford to lose if something goes wrong." he explained to me in his stern manner, though it was still not enough for me to want to stay and tied my thumbs and wait for Bull to come back alive.

"I can handle anything, you know that fully well, Bill." I countered back with him.

"It doesn't matter that you're a fuckin' assassin, you're still one of us and one of our officers that we need in this war. Winters will loose it if he hears you went off on a goose hunt, not to mention Captain Jacobs," Guarnere explained to me cooly, though now I was quiet because I knew he was telling the truth, "We need you here, Kit. They can handle it themselves."

"He's right," We both looked over to see Webster getting up and rearranging his combat gear as he looked over at me, "I'll go with them, what the hell. I can keep an eye on them for you, but Bill's right: you're an officer we can't loose at any time."

"We can do it, Lieutenant Kit." Garcia reassured me though I was still hesitant about staying here and watching them walk off in the dead of the night. I had to have faith in them then, and they were willing to place their own lives on the line to go and find Bull. It was going to be hard for me to see them go, but then again they were full grown men.

"Alright," I said with a sigh, seeing the men smile from my decision, "But be safe, for my sake and Bull's too."

"You got it, Kit," Webster said to me as they started to walk off though they all smiled at me as they passed me. I watched reluctantly as they walked together in a huddle off into the darkness of the grass. having me feel Guarnere place a hand on my shoulder to give me reassurance.

"They're gonna be alright, Kit. Let's head back to the barn, okay?" He asked me, trying to get my mind off of what was going on. I sighed and nodded my head, though as we were walking away I could hear Cobb, whom never left with them, mutter out one phrase that made me both wanna punch him to shut him up, or just agree with him in sadness.

"I ain't going back up there."

* * *

I couldn't sleep for what seemed like hours that night, since not only were there bomb still going off over the Holland town, but there still wasn't any word of Bull and him coming back. My own nerves were getting the best of me since anything could have happened to him. I felt bad for losing him in the battle, but trying real hard not to let what happened to him be my fault. Everyone else was probably asleep at this point, but there was no sense of sleeping when I was worried about it.

I needed a distraction.

After pacing for a good ten minutes, thought to myself and my fingers were tapping my chin over and over as a nervous habit, I finally caved in and leaned against the door that was cracked open out not the open grass field, the smooth fog still rolling in to show that it was in the wee hours of the morning and I couldn't see the stars anymore because of the smoke rising in the air. As soon as I leaned into the door, felt something crumpling in my jacket, almost like paper. It made me pause though I suddenly remembered what it was.

Ron's letter.

I had nothing else to do, so I fished it out from the inside pocket that I was holding it in, having me feel the frail envelope in my hands and knowing that there was a folded paper on the inside. Once I opened the envelope, I took out the folded paper and got it ready for me to read. I could tell he put some time to it since the letters looked so delicate compared to some of the chicken scratch that the other boys in Easy had. He wanted this to look good, I could tell. I moved it around a bit so I could see in the natural light of the night and the bright crescent moon that was still hanging high above us.

_Dear Kit,_

_Since we won't be seeing each other anytime soon in the near future, I still wish to keep in contact with you throughout this war. There's not a whole lot of people that I can talk to that can hold and keep my attention, not to mention keep my interest. But you're one of the lucky few that I can talk to and not be worried or judged upon._

_I would first like to say that I am thankful that we are friends. You're quite different from many other women that I have met in my life, which is not a bad thing at all. I have come to appreciate your sense of bravery when it comes to holding you ground, and also your kind heart and spirit. We need people like that in this war though I knew you don't see it as much as I do. I'm glad that Easy Company has an officer like you to help guide them and take care of them within this war. _

_Secondly, I wish to use these letters as more of a way to get to know you more. We have only talked a handful of times, having me hear about your older brother sad your parents and how you started shooting with you father when you were young. If it's alright with you, I want to know more than that. I want to know your favorite food, what kind of music you like to listen to. Hell, what kind of books you read. I am only sad to know that we cannot talk to each other face to face and have more time to get to know each other in that way._

_Lastly, I will keep an eye on Beta for you. She is a fierce fighter and a great soldier to have in Dog Company. I am honored to have her with us, with her kind heart and her strong will to survive and succeed. She has talked about you plenty of times, and I am happy to know that you two are friends. I can see you in her sometimes, how she helps the others in Dog company and how she can carry her own compared to the others. _

_I hope to hear back from you soon. Let me know how it's going with Easy, although I will get tabs from other officers and they will tell me how it's going. I wish to keep our conversation going. _

_Ronald Spiers_

I closed the folded paper and placed it against my chest, breathing out the low breath that was threatening to escape my lips from the moment I was sent back to my own quarters earlier that night. He wanted me to write back to him, to tell him more and more about me. What was he wanting to know that was not yet said. Just reading the letter was something that I needed that day, within that moment. I wondered if he did that on purpose, if he wrote to me in hopes of lifting my spirits and making me feel better on where I was in my life. I never gave him enough credit when it came to being a good man, someone that is willing to have some kinds shown at the most unusual times. It was still a mystery, however, why he would want to talk to someone like me. It sounded a bit taboo since we were basically going to send letters to each other just to either pass the time or to further our friendship.

This wasn't going to be so bad, after all.

* * *

"Kit, you awake?" I felt a hand on my arm, having me instantly shook open my eyes and grab the wrist of whoever was grabbing me. It was a gut instinct kind of grab, without even thinking about it since I would wake up all the time within a nightmare or coming out of one. But it was the person who grabbed me that was a bit shocked. It was Luz, the one person I knew would be one of the last ones to ever pose as a threat to me.

"Woah, easy there, Kit." He said to me, moving his body a bit away from me from being perched over me slightly to see if I was awake of not, "It's just me, your ol' pal Luz."

I was almost curled up in a ball on top of my makeshift bed in one of the buildings we took over. I breathe out a shallow breath, trying to get my own bearing together as I slowly got up and released Luz's wrist from my grip. I felt bad for grabbing it in such a harsh and fast rate, but it felt too real with the previous dream that I had.

"Sorry." I said in a small manner, though Luz smiled at me to show that he meant no harm.

"It's fine, I didn't mean to scare you like that." He reassured me, but I could tell it was still shocking for him to see me wake up like that. I must have spooked him out, but he just waited for me to cracked my spine out from being sore from sleeping before I looked over at him.

"What time is it?" I asked, trying to get the tiredness off my face.

"9 in the morning. I came over to grab you." He said to me as I could see some of the rays of sunlight coming into the room and having me slowly get up from my makeshift bed and moved my hair from my eyes.

"What's going on?" I questioned as I was rearranging my jacket and getting feeling back in my legs.

"Winters asked me to come and get you for some kind of officer meeting." Luz answered me back. I then grabbed my rifle to throw on over my shoulder, "We're gathering out on the field before we move out."

"We're not staying here?" I asked as we were walking out of my room and into the hallway, hearing the others getting out of their one rooms with their own equipment. It was odd that we were already leaving so soon, and yet there was no sign of Bull at all. In fact, I haven't even heard back from the group of replacements, along with Webster and Hobbler, who went out looking for Bull.

"Apparently not. Winters wants us out of here before anything else happens to us." Luz replied as we were now out in the cool morning light. Some of the soldiers walked out with us and we were all going together to the same small green hills that we met up at last night before I was sent back to my own sleeping area. I could see the faces of Martin, Guarnere, Toye, Muck, Malarky, Joe, Shifty, Sisk and others from Easy. As I walked over with Luz, I saw a couple of men looking over at me and walking over to see me. I could see it on their faces, they wanted to make sure that I was okay.

"Heya, Kit. How ya doin'?" Shifty asked me hesitantly as I approached them with Luz and smiled at them all since we were practically in a huddle then together, hearing some of the jeeps roll in and out in the area.

"I'm doing okay, thanks, Shift." I replied back to him, senile him smile kindly to me as I looked to him from Guarnere, "Any word yet?"

"Not yet, Kit." He replied in a low tone, having me cringe a bit and not say anything. It was killing me now, a gnawing numb pain that I had no idea where he was and if he was alright. The others could see it in my face, having me feel Sisk place a hand on my arm and Johnny speak up.

"Have hope. He's gonna be okay." Johnny reassured me carefully, a small smile on his face to show that he too was worried about his good friend and that he wanted to find him, but he was not going to let it consume him. The others murmured in agreement and were nodding too, having me glad that I had a group to come in and make sure that I was doing alright. Even though it was still an uneasy feeling or worry, it felt a bit better then.

"Hey, look at that." We all looked to hear one of the soldiers, Dukeman, pointing with his finger at an upcoming jeep that was rolling up to us, some guys were in the jeep and Johnny broke out into a grin. I did too since I knew who was in the front seat.

"Bull!" Johnny called out, having me smile and have a sense of relief that my good friend was back safe and sound. The jeep halted in front of us, the boys pouring out of it including Webster, Garcia, Hobbler and Hashay along with Bull there and they all walked over to us. We joined them though I was pushing my way through the sea of guys as Guarnere was already shaking Bull's hand.

"I don't know whether to slap you or kiss you or salute you," Guarnere explained to them as they shook hands,"I told these scallywags that you were okay."

"They didn't listen?" Bull asked, amused clearly from the situation.

"Nat, these salted bastards, they wanted to go on a suicide run to drag your ass back." Guarnere answered him, having me watch as Bull was analyzing the group that Bill was talking about with a small smile on his face.

"Is that right?" He asked with his accent laid out thick. The men were looking rather bashful from the conversation, and I felt a smile was still tugging on my lips just to see him safe and sound.

"Yeah, I told them don't bother."

"Never did like this company none." Bull replied, hearing them all chuckle as I then walked over to stand in front of him. A part of me wanted to scold him for putting me through so much worry and pain of not knowing where he was, but another part just wanted to hug him and have him know that I was relieved that he was alive. Bull smiled brightly at me, having me remember how my older brother Andrew would smile as I held out my hand for him to shake. At first he was confused by the gesture, but once he was shaking, I finally spoke up.

"Don't ever scare me like that again, you hear me?" I asked him in a calm but authoritative manner. He nodded his head, still shaking my hand as I could see he knew where I was coming from.

"I don't plan on it anytime soon." He answered back to me, having me release his handshake on me and we were still grinning at each other.

"You better not.

* * *

**October 5th, 1944**

**Schoonderlogt, Holland**

"Tell me again, how does it work?" Luz asked me as I was sitting in one of the chairs at the same table that Winters, Talbert and Luz and I was trying to, once again, show Luz how to make a folded fortune teller origami. We were passing the time that night and I was trying to keep the others company as we were staying in another small farmhouse, though some of the new soldiers were getting rest and others were on a patrol that night out near the crossroads. Holland was our home for awhile, and after the incident with Operation Market Garden, it's been more low key than ever.

"Look, you fold one here, and then the other over here." I explained with the small piece of paper in his hands though it was already too smudged from the past couple of attempts me had on it. I was sitting on top of the table, Talbert was tending to his dog and Luz was sitting near me with his radio near his leg. Winters was working away on one of his weapons, though once in awhile he would peek over to see what I was doing with Luz.

"How did you learn how to do this again?" Luz asked me as I watched him finish with his origami.

"Back at the prep school I was at," I answered, seeing him place his fingers in the correct holes and then moving it around to get a feel for it, "I had a handful in my drawer of my nightstand."

"Let me guess: you wrote the names of all the cute guys you liked." Talbert teased me as he was playing with the German Shepard he found with a stick.

"As a matter of fact I did if you really like to know." I replied back, wearing Luz chuckle, even Winters cracked a smile a bit as Talbert went on with another subject on his mind.

"New guys giving the replacements that what-for and why-is. I swear one of them has never shaved." Talbert explained to us as I too looked over at some of the new ones that were placed in out company. They looked so younger, younger than me thought I was now about to turn 24 in December.

"Yeah, kids." Winters commented in agreement, though now I was seeing Luz working along on his origami and I grabbed my rifle that was against my leg, placing it on my lap to lay it out and then checking it to see if it was in proper working order. It was another habit that I picked up now I was in the war: checking and going over my rifle with my eyes and fingers. First, it was to pass the time, but now it was a reassurance that it wasn't going to backfire on me and get me killed.

"How long have you had that rifle, Lieutenant Kit?" Winters asked me, having me look over and see him eye me and the weapon on my lap.

"Since Fort Benning, sir." I replied back to him as I looked back at the weapon with it's weight on my legs and seeing how worn it was compared to the others in Easy, "Jacobs thought I would need a good sniper rifle, and tis happened to be the best at the time. Since then, I got to tweak it around to work in how I wanted it to."

"That explains that duck tape." Luz commented to me from his spot near me though I eyed him and I saw him grin.

"It's for a better grip, better that than a rifle to slip when I shoot and it shakes." I explained back to him with a small smile on my lips.

"Good idea." Winters complimented, having me grin at him.

"Thank you, sir." I thanked him, having me see Luz eye the dog that Talbert was playing with.

"That is one hell of a dog, Tab." He said to him in a smile.

"What'd you call it, Tab?" Winters asked as he went on to fix his weapon some more.

"Trigger." Talbert replied.

"That's good. I like that, Trigger." Luz said it in a way to make sure it sounded good on his own lips. I looked back at my weapon in my lap, thinking back to when Captain Jacobs gave it to me though I was still hesitant about my own whole with Wolf Company. But it was cut short when we heard the doors being banged open and someone was calling for help. We all shot up from our spots as we saw three of our men, one of them being wounded on the fact and along his body, being dragged in and placed on the table in the middle of the room. Tablet's dog was barking as someone was calling for Doc when Winters and I mad out way over to who it was that was hurt. Alley.

"Penetration, Alley's hurt!" I looked down at Alley and I could see that he was still in shock from what happened to him. Blood was all over his body and some scars and scabs were on his face, having me worry that he was not going to make it.

"Look at me, Alley." I said to him as Winters was talking to Joe to see what was going on, though Joe himself was wounded on the neck and was trying to stop the bleeding from one of the bandages from his first aid kit, "Try to breathe in and out, alright?"

"Yes ma'am. What happened?" He asked me over and over in a hoarse manner, having me look up to see another soldier snap at Joe from his explanation.

"If it wasn't for you big mouth, they wouldn't have found us!" He snapped at joe who rolled his eyes and was about to snap his head off.

"You know what, why don't you back off." Joe said back to him in almost a biting manner as I shot a look at both of them.

"Both of you, enough," I commanded. They both went silent and looked back down at Alley again as Winters looked over at Lipton now in determination.

"Lipton, assemble a squad," He instructed Lipton, whom nodded in agreement and yelled out for 1st battalion to get their weapons ready. Everyone was running around as Doc finally made it over and was about to work on Alley now though I was still hesitant to leave him. it took Doc to tap me on my arm to have me look over at him.

"I got this, Kit. Don't worry about him." He reassured me gently, having me move away from him so he can work on Alley. I watched for a second, having me a bit worried since he too was another young soldier who was damaged and too young to be placed in this position. I felt a hand on my shoulder and have me look over at Lipton, weapon in hand and the others in 1st about to go out into the darkness.

"You ready to go?" He asked me, having me nod once.

Yeah, ready to go,


	20. Chapter 20

We were treading on the low grass within the very night we were told that there was an attack on our patrol. I was up in the front with Winters and he was leading the low walk amongst the grass as we were making our way over to where we were told that it happened. The night was old and still, but we could hear some of the guns going off a little bit little in front of me as he inched closer and closer. I kept my own body low, rifle against my back and my fingerless gloves trailing over the tall grass blades toffee the coldness there.

No one spoke throughout the whole process, though I could tell we were all on the edge of our toes when we could hear more and more clicks of guns going off ahead of us, a bit farther away now as Winters motioned us tog et down and hide from whoever could be watching us at that moment. I was near Talbert and Winters as they both were looking over to see what was ahead for us. I did the same, having us see the peppering of guns going off and then it stopped, a scattering rhythm that was echoing in the night.

"MG42? What in the hell are they shootin' at? What's down that road?" Talbert asked Winters as I was still keeping my eye on them and wondering the same thing.

"It's their headquarters, but that's 3 miles away, why are they giving relieving their position?" Winters asked back with another question.

"They as smart as me and you?" replied Talbert.

"I'll check it out anyway." Winters said to the both of us, having me look over my shoulder at him as he then looked over at Talbert now, "Hold here, wait for my signal."

"I'll go with you, sir." I said to him as we both crept along the side of the hill for a fee steps before ascending up the hill and trying to stay close to the earth. Thankfully I had both of my hands to work with so I climbed up with my fingers against the dirt and my body so close to the hill, almost trying to blend in with the shadows as Winters was trying to keep up. The others stayed behind as I rolled over the hill and threw my body against the other side, blending in to try and not be seen. Winters did the same, having the both of us freeze against the hill and hear nothing.

After another moment or two of silence, we both bolted and hunched over to run to the other side of the road that was there, sliding down another small hill but staying at the top to peer over to where the Germans were. I grabbed my scope from my pocket, placing it near my eye I looked to see what I could find since they were far enough away for me to use the scope but close enough where I could see details.

"What's happened there, Lieutenant?" Winters asked me as I scanned the area. I could see a scattered amount of men with the one big gun that they were using, nothing too big or drastic.

"No more than 10 men, sir." I whispered back to him as I heard him shuffle a bit behind me.

"I'll get the others, stay here and keep an eye out." He commanded me as he was about to crawl back up to the road again.

"Yes, sir." I replied back, hearing him crawl back up though my eyes were back on the enemy. They weren't moving at all, which was good in our favor as I breathed out slowly to make sure that I was still doing against the hill. This almost seemed too easy, way too easy for us since I had the uneasy feeling that this was going to be some kind of trap now. But then again, we could have been at a very lucky place there and catching them at the most vulnerable moment for them.

After only hearing the peppering of the guns going off where they were, I could hear the other men with Winters coming back over to the hill again. They were just as quiet as they were when we approached that area though I kept my eye up and over on the enemy just to make sure nothing happened.

"Head down," Winters whispered to me as they were descending down the slope I was on, having me move the scope away and slide with them to land on my feet. Winters was telling the men which ones to go where and when to move on his command. I stayed with him as we were walking in a fast pace, trying to remain quiet and having me scan the area once more in case we were in trouble. Even though I was the sniper in Easy, other than Shifty, I was also someone who was meant to protect these men at all cost.

Once we were close enough to get ready for an attack on our end, Winters was telling each man on whom to shoot from their position while I was getting my own rifle out and ready for action. I got my scope back on my rifle and rearranged the vision there as we were then waiting for Winters to give us the clear to start firing.

Once he fired, we all let loose with our own guns out at them. We did take them by surprise, having them look confused as to what was going on and who was shooting at them. I kept shooting from my spot though they were all falling piece by piece and one by one. It seemed that luck was in our favor at first, but we were still being held there as more and more soldiers were coming from over the hill with weapons in hands.

"Fall back!" Once we heard that, after a few rounds from our rifles and a couple of mortars being launched, we all started to run back along the path that we were once on and trying to get out of there in a fast manner, dodging the bullets that were coming over our head within inches and getting rather away from them. Our machine guns were still going off and trying to keep them at bay, yet the Germans were still having a good hold on us as Winters was trying to get us settled in our new position.

"Suppressing fire! Suppressing fire!" He shouted over the firing as he ran past us. He yelled at Dukeman to get a hold of one of the machine guns, but as he was running past me he was shot and he fell to the floor, dead within seconds.

"Fuck! Dukeman's down!" Luz said as he was still shooting his own rifle. I took out three more of the men as I looked over to see this boy on the floor, sandwiched between the men as they were carrying on their orders, as if the death of Dukeman did not shake them. It must have, somewhere within them they were scared that they lost a friend, but at the moment they had to hide it and win this battle that was happening.

This was going to be the longest night ever.

* * *

A long line of us was waiting at the ditch we were end, waiting to see what Winters was going to do and when we were going to run out and strike. I had no intention of using a bayonet, so I had two pistols out for both of my hands to work with since I felt better with a fast aim then I did with my rifle. This time it was about speed, killing within seconds, and that's where the pistols came into play.

Winters was the first to move, having a can of red smoke in hand and was about to pull the plug to get the smoke going That was our single as we all waited within the grass, seeing him throw the can of smoke into the air to hit the grass. Winters was off, running with his rifle in hand as we all watched for a second. Someone popped up though Talbert stopped him.

"Wait for the signal!" he hissed, all of us watching in both fascination and in horror as he was by himself now, running towards the crossroads where the Germans were on the other side and we were wondering what in the hell was going on. It got me worried since he was by himself and he could be killed within seconds by a sniper or something else. But then we saw the red smoke rising in the air, and that's when we moved.

We ran.

I was the fastest, almost leading the pack in my slim, fitted black Wolf Company attire and my own helmet on to shadow my face and hair. I had both pistols in hand, in front of me and running with my legs pumping and my mind on the fact that I had to go and find Winters from not being killed since he was too far ahead and alone. We were all running fast, though the red smoke and already hearing the shots being fired from Winters as he was stoning alone on the crossroads, open firing on the men there as they were confused, once again, as to what was going on.

"There!" We all made it to the crossroad in time to see Winters, still standing and alive, firing song the Germans. We all hit the floor though I kept my ground behind Winters and shot with both pistols. I was glad I had the infamous Spade how to shot pistols within seconds and to hold my ground with them. Bless the Texan spitfire and her gunslinging abilities. I was getting them let and right, my eyes were wide open and barely blinking as more and more were coming to us and we were trying to fend them off.

"Jesus, it's another battalion!" Someone said in horror as more Germans were coming, along with bombs going off on both sides as we were having a full out war on that Crossroad. I could see some of those Germans were aiming for Winters though I was getting them away from Winters myself and seeing some of them fall and others coming in rows and rows.

"We got them!" I could hear Luz say it from near me on the floor as we were finishing up our slaughter them. it was a massive fight between both sides, and it took so much out of me in that assault since we finished it off, having another successful battle under our belts. I lowered the pistols, hot and empty from having me unleash on the Germans there. At first, I felt like I was invincible there on the crossroad. But it wasn't until a few seconds after, having me suddenly feel a rushing wave of fatigue coming over me like a wave. I looked down at my hands that were still holding the pistols, having me see them shake as I dropped the pistols onto the paved road and hearing them clank and rattle against the rocks there.

"Kit?" I looked up and over at Winters now, seeing him watch me hesitantly as I was still looking like I was about to pass out from all that happened within mere minutes, or not an hour, of that battle. I never really sat down and understood how much energy I poured into every shot that I took as their sniper, how much energy I was loosing from each battle and lack of sleep, not to mention not eating as much as I should. For some reason, my body chose now to be the time to shut down and literally almost collapse. It was all hitting me now, having me suddenly feel my legs buckle and then having me about to fall to my knees from my energy being lost.

"Jesus! Kit!' Winters was holding me up within a second, a arm around my waist as I was leaning against him unwillingly and placing on the floor on my knees and he looked over at Perconte who watched the whole thing, "Go get Doc, now!"

"Sir.." I tried to say, to get him off of me and not look weak, but I was seeing double and my head was pounding, it was making me sick.

"Hang on, Kit. You need to take it easy. I think you were overloading on yourself." He explained to me carefully as I was trying to see straight again. The fatigue was hitting me over and over like a headache. My hands were now shaking violently since I was going on overload with my energy dropping within seconds and my head was spiraling out of control.

"Heya, Kit," I heard Doc and his Louisianan accent as I could hear him running over to me as I was still on my knees with Winters next to me. Doc got on his knees in front of me, taking off my helmet quickly and having me feel the cool air on my scalp for the first time in hours. I sighed in relief, though my head was still swimming as Doc then gently placed his fingers against my jaw to have me look up at him.

"Let me look at ya." He spoke to me as I was now looking right at him. My vision as still blurry and out of focus, though it wasn't hot and I wasn't thirsty. At least that what it felt like to me.

"I think you're having a bad case of fatigue. You need to rest up, Lieutenant." He responded to me calmly as I was about to shake my head at the thought of being sent to go rest when I had a job to do.

"I'm fine, Doc." I muttered back to him, though now my voice was sounding a bit off since I was about to pass out from what happened to me. I was not going to look weak in front of the guys when I knew I could be doing so much better than that. However, I was getting the same look of determination on Doc's face as he was shaking his head.

"You need to take it easy, Kit. You overdue it from all the shootin' you do." Doc explained to me, though I really wanted to glare at him now and be bitter from the sheer fact that he wanted me tons step back from what I really wanted to do.

"This is nothing." I tried to reason with him, but now it was Winters who spoke up.

"This is you almost killing yourself. You're a good soldier, but I don't think you're an idiot as a human being." Winters explained to me calmly now as I was looking over at him. He was giving me the same kind of look that my father, and even my own Uncle would give me when I was doing something to the point of pushing it too far.

"Kit, I'm ordering you to take the rest of the day off with your duties, and you are going to go and rest. I'm going to have Doc look after ya, understand me?" Winters advised me carefully as I finally gave in, no longer wanting to fight it with either Winters or Doc. I nodded, seeing him smile at me as Doc released his grip on my jawline and helped me up from the ground, though I felt a bit wobbly then.

"Come on. I have'ta help out the others and the wounded, but come with me and rest in the shade, alright?" He said to me as the three of us were standing together now on the road. I walked with him as Winters went off though it was still a blow to the ego and now I felt bad for having to sit and rest.

* * *

The rest of the day was of me, sitting on my ass within the shadows of the hill with my helmet at my feet and my arms resting on my knees that were bent in front of me. It also consisted of me watching as the others were going about to clean up the mess. At one point, there was only one gunshot still being heard, and it came from joe who was trying to take out the last German soldier who was struggling in the grass away from us. It was almost pathetic really, how he was driven to the point of wanting to murder that one last soldier when the rest of us gave up without victory. Winters stopped him and ordered him to take the POW's that we assembled, 11 of them, to the Battalion CP. But after Joe was about to go, I witnessed Winters leaving in one round in his rifle and Joe looking a bit hurt from that action.

It was like Winters didn't trust Joe with the prisoners and he was going to make sure that Joe was not going to do anything stupid or selfish. I could only see with my eyes as he walked away with a bitter look on his face, almost like he was mad at Winters for taking his ammo away. Joe walked past me with the German POW's in front of him and their hands behind their heads, and as he walked by he gave me a dirty look. He was bitter and once again he was taking it out on me. I knew we had some kind of love-hate relationship, and now it was on that hate side of it all. Great, just great.

I could see Winters talking to Colonel Sink about something clearly important, since the look on his face was both of shock and confusion. Did he get in trouble? I thought the battle was a success. After Sink left Winter's side, he walked over to me as he squatted down to be in front of me. This must have been a sight for him to see: a Wolf Company Sniper who was sitting on the sidelines from fatigue and looking rather pathetic and worthless. But I didn't see that in his eyes as he was watching me: I was seeing a genuine look of satisfaction there. I Saluted him and was about to get up when he held his hand to stop me.

"At ease, Kit. Winters explained to me what happened to you, Lieutenant." He said in his gruff tone, having me eye him to see where he was going with this conversation, "You feeling alright?"

"I am, sir." I replied back smoothly, trying to hide the fact that I wanted to throw up.

"I can see that on your face," He countered back with me, having me breathe out slowly as he just chuckled, "None the less, you have done a hell of a job with Easy from what both Winters and 1st Lieutenant Spiers is telling me."

"Ronald Spiers, sir?" I asked him hesitantly since it sounded too out of place for Ron to be talking about me in battle. Has he seen me in an action?

"I was just with Dog Company the other day to check on the men and our comrade, Lieutenant Beta. He informed me on how good of a soldier you are with Easy and what an asset you are to the army." Sink informed me, having me be in stunned silence now as he went on, "I come to hear it from Winters and I am going to take his word for it. You keep up what you're doing, you'll be a Captain before you know it." I smiled at him weakly, trying to show that I appreciated it but then again it all fell too much once again for me. So much thrown at me at one time, and yet they saw it was another walk in the park.

"Thank you, sir." I thanked him with me a small smile on his face.

"You get your bearings together, you deserve it. Oh, I have something here for you from Dog Company." He reached into his own pocket and took out another envelope for me, handing it to me as I took it with my shaky and pale hand. He got up, having me salute him as returned the gesture and walked off. I looked at the envelope in my hands, having me trace the outline of it with my dirty fingers before leaning my head back and closing my eyes.

God, help me breathe.

* * *

_Dear Kit,_

_To answer your question, I am a sucker for walking in the park alone with my own thoughts. I know it sounds corny on my part to say such a thing, I prefer to walk and have my thoughts rattle me awake and have me think. It's better than not thinking at all, to be honest. I'm glad we both enjoy quiet walks though these days it seems more like a nightmare to be alone in one's thoughts._

_I hope Sink gets this to you. I asked him personally to deliver this to you because he told me he was going to be visiting you Company soon after he leaves ours. I hope you don't mind that I have told him plenty of good things about you, though I know you are not one for compliments thrown at you left and right. Never the less, I enjoy watching you squirm under praises. You can thank me the next time we meet again in the war._

_I am sorry that you're having nightmares. Although I would say to any other soldier here in the war that it is a normal thing to have, to go through night after night, it sounds like your nightmares are more haunting than they should be. Please know that I would never want to push our boundary that is a friendship between us when it comes to wanting to know specifically what is going on with your dreams, just know that I am wiling to listen if you are willing to tell me._

_Please write back to me and let me know how you are. I enjoy our letters back and forth to each other, it brings me peace at the end of the day, and there isn't a whole lot of peace these days. I hope you are going okay, I really do._

_Stay safe, for my sake._

_Ron._

* * *

I had my first dream that night that did not involve Gerald. It was with someone else, almost like a taboo kind of feeling. I was with Ron, and we were sitting together somewhere in the shade, almost like a park and we were just…talking. I was wearing a dress, and he was in slacks and a nice dress shirt, smiling at each other and I had no idea what we were talking about, but it seemed so pleasant and like we were a couple. There was no sense of pain there in the dream, no sense of fear and no worry that I was going to die that time. No, it as just Ron and I talking together and our fingers laced together in between us. I wonder if this was God telling me something as I woke up with a gasp against my lips. But it wasn't a gasp of pain, it was gasp of relief and realization that it was a dream.

Only a dream.

Once I was outside, needing another dose of fresher in my lungs, the moon was weighing high over the area as I walked along the dirt path between my own building where I was staying with the other officers and some of the others including one barn that was lit up from the inside. Something was gong on in there since the noise inside was mostly of cheering. I walked a few steps, curious as to see what it was until I was interrupted in my step with someone else walking with me.

"Good to see you're awake." I looked over to see Shifty there, a small smile on his lips. I smiled at seeing my best friend there since we haven't been able to talk one on one for a bit then. The last time we did talk alone was when I confessed to him what happened to me, the rest of the time we were in chaos with the war. I have missed being alone with him and having some happiness back in my life other than confusion and tiredness.

"Heya Shifty, haven't seen you around." I replied though he shrugged his shoulders as we were walking over to the barn together slowly.

"Been busy, though when I heard what happened to you I got a bit worried." He explained even though I chuckled a bit.

"For the love of God, does everyone in this whole damn battalion wanna look after me like I'm a child?" I asked in a scoff, both amused and annoyed at the same time that everyone in Easy was looking out for me. I was taught to be alone mostly, to look out for myself in this war, yet a bunch of men was looking at me like I was far too fragile to be out there on the line.

"You're not, you're one of us. Hell, you would be worried if one of us got hurt too." Shifty countered back with me though I was still not convinced yet, "I saw what you did when Lipton got hurt: you took out those Germans within seconds along with that tank."'So?" I questioned.

"'So?" I questioned.

"So, it seems to me that you're more of the mother bear to us." Shifty joked with a chuckle, having me roll my eyes, "Don't be surprised when we're going to be protective of you. We care about you."

"I'm sure you'll do." I answered back as we opened the main barn doors. Inside, it blew me away to see how many men were inside and how they were all cheering and talking together. Some of them were from Easy, and the others were from the British army battalion. I could see the sea of red British men there, all talking amongst each other and the men from Easy as Shifty and I got inside. This was some sight for me, almost taking my own breath away and seeing the happiness there on their faces. After days and days of running around with rifles in our hands and blood all over us, along with the thought of seeing death in front of me constantly, this was a good change of scenery and pace for us.

"What in the hell happened?" I asked Shifty, still not understanding what was going on.

"Operation Pegasus just happened with our allied forces and we were successful, so we decided to celebrate tonight." Shifty said to me as I scanned the room to see who I recognized from Easy. A bunch of the boys were there, including Perconte, Bull, Garcia, Babe, Hashay, Joe, Martin, Toye, Guarnere and others too.

"Look who it is, mornin' sleeping beauty!" Toye joked with me as the group of them walked over to me with drinks in hand and smiles on their faces.

"Hello boys, I can see you guys are having a good time." I said to him as the others were laughing at my remark.

"We're glad to see you're walking around a-okay. Doc told us what happened and we were hoping you were going to show up to this." Garcia explained to me as I looked over a Shifty, who threw up his hands in defense.

"It was Doc, not me! You heard him!" He said to me in an amused manner though I smirked at him as I saw the other guys pointing to the Allied soldiers behind them.

"You want us to grab you a drink?" Perconte asked me though I was a bit hesitant to do so. Once again, being the only female in the area and having some kind of worry that I would be judged with an alcoholic drink in hand, this would end badly. But then again, I would need a nice night of not worrying if I was going to be seen in a wrong way, this might be what I needed, after all.

* * *

Later that night, walking back over to my bunk there was a small smile on my face. It was a nice night out with the boys since we were just enjoying the time there with the British Allies. Hearing the boys laugh and swap stories with the British soldiers about the battles they were in since the start of the war. I was glad to be there with them, though a couple of times they would brag about me to the other men and talk about all that I have done. It was a bit embarrassing, yet the others it was fascinating to hear how I was training in Fort Benning,

Some of them already heard stories about Wolf Company and they were telling me the stories and the rumors about them. Apparently we were ghosts among the men, almost like flashes of smoke with how fast we were running and how skilled we were in our killing. The way they talked about us Wolf Company members was like how they would swap stories over the campfire or within the late night when no one was around. I could even point out who they were talking to when it came to the stories, since clearly Spade was the fastest in drawing guns from the hips and Viper with her knives being thrown almost the speed of light. It made me smile to hear how they talked the women of Wolf Company, and it showed that what we were doing in the war was good and memorable.

I was once again walking in the darkness back to the building where I knew my bunk was, feeling a bit better since I had one drink in me and I was satisfied with the fun night I had with the boys. But it then came to a halt when someone was now walking behind me. It made me worry for a second because I knew the others from Easy were still back at the barn talking and hanging out. I kept walking through, yet I left my rifle back at my bunk along with most of my weapons. Hell, I was weaponless at that point, and hearing someone walking behind me and keeping a safe pace from me was scary and confusing enough for me. I looked at me finally, seeing who it was.

It was another American soldier, but not one from Easy and he was watching me now with intriguing eyes. He was about 50 feet away from me, hands in his pockets but the way he was looking at me was like he was about to attack me. I knew that look, and it made me shiver slightly from seeing it. The same look as Gerald.

"Heya there, ma'am." he said to me coolly, almost like he was going to toy with me. I just eyed him, thinking that he was going to do something with me and he was thinking that he was going to succeed him.

"Private." I replied backed to him softly, walking away from him and I kept going on my trek back to the building. I was going to see if he was going to leave me be since he was not part of Easy and he had no idea what I was capable of in the army. But once again he was following me, having me make a fist at my side and then take a few more steps before I whirled around and he was a bit closer to me now, the same smirk on his face that was almost demonic. He was a bit taller than me, hell, and bigger too when it came to weight and muscles. But he was not going to scare me. I was not going to loose this.

"Can I help you with something, private?" I asked him calmly though he was now sizing me up and down.

"I was making sure you weren't going to walk alone, ma'am. It's never safe for a woman to walk by herself these days, you know?" He asked me in a suave manner though I knew he was trying really hard to be smooth with me. I only glared at him, thinking that this was more pathetic than usual.

"I think I can handle walking from here to a building by myself, and you can leave me be and head back to the party." I advised him carefully though I knew this was going to be more difficult than before. He just another step towards me, in which I took another step back from him and then seeing him eyeing me now with a wider smile on his face. He was thinking that this was some kind of game, and yet this was another nightmare that was in fact booming a reality for me.

"I can see you don't like being too close to people, a bit of a tease don't you think?" He asked me, already trying to get close to me again and reaching out carefully with his arm and hand. I moved it out of the way just in time for him to not even touch me. I could see now that he was getting a bit agitated on how I wasn't falling for his advantage on me, yet this was going to get badly.

"I would advise you to go back to the party before I break your nose." I said to him very carefully now, almost to the point were my tone was going to drop now because he was treading now on thin ice and making it worse for how I was feeling. We were too close to each other, almost like how Gerald was too close to be before he raped me. It was a flashback all over again.

"You know, you don't scare me. I can tell you're just a regular woman out here with a bunch of men who are pining for you…and how you look in a combat uniform." He sneered at me, having me finally lose it as I threw up my arm and slugged him across the jaw. He stumbled back a bit from the blow though my hand was on fire and I was glaring at him now with more intensity than ever. I watched as he grabbed his jaw and then glared at me. Great, the playfulness was over.

"Don't talk to me like that again." I warned him as I was about to move away from him and be done with it. I was having enough of this creep of a private once and for all. But he then grabbed my hand and held it so hard that I though his nails were going to pierce the skin. I felt very hopeless at that moment though I knew I could get out of it with seconds from the proper training that I have had in the past. But for some reason, my mind froze up and I couldn't move my body. I was having a mental breakdown because this was Gerald all over again. Why did I choose this now to freeze up and not respond to fight him back?

"And I don't like it when a bitch hits me like that." he sneered back at me now with a deadly tone there, having em really think that this was going to Gerald once again. But I pushed him back once more with my one hand that he was not having a death grip on, already wanting to just kill the guy right now and get him away from me.

"And I don't like a dick treating me like that." I growled back at him,s being the hate in his eyes now that I was not bowing down to him and being submissive. That is what he wanted, he wanted me to give in and late him be dominate. That was when he finally snapped, pulling me close with the hand that was clutching my own and having me see that he was going to try and kiss me by force. I was trying so hard not to scream out, then again cry in front of him because it feels all too real and too intense for me.

But then he was thrown off of me though his grab on my hand was so forceful that he almost threw my own arm out of its socket. I yelped out in pain as I saw none other than a couple of the Easy members there, glaring at the man with hate in their eyes and looking like they were about to kill them. It was Babe, Shifty, Bull, Joe, Doc and Martin there, with Bull grabbing the men by his jacket and almost holding up from the ground as I was standing there, clutching my arm that was now feeling sore from him yanking on it so hard.

"I don't think it's the greatest idea in the world for you to touch her like that, private." Martin said in a low tone as I was then greeted by Shifty, who placed his hands on my arms to get my focus away from the guy and on him. I was breathing in and out in a shallow way since my mind was still frozen and not working right once again.

"You okay, Kit?" He asked with concern as he was searching my face to make sure that I was alright. I nodded my head, having me see that he was not buying it, but I was on the verge of crying and breaking down in millions of pieces.

"I didn't do anything." the private said in a straining tone in Bull's grip, but it made him grab the boy even tighter and the boy yelped.

"That's not what we saw, boy." Bull replied in a gruff as Babe walked over to me with his eyes still on the private.

'What did he do to ya, Kit?" He asked, his voice was at a low warning tone as he looked like he was going to punch the guy himself.

"N-nothing," I replied in a stammer.

"Bullshit. I can see it on his face that he tried something on ya." Joe growled as he was watching the private that was still hoisted in the air. The private looked over at me now, his eyes were still hating on me but with fear there still from the boys roughing him up.

"She started it, the bitch—" He started, but Bull threw him to the ground and we saw him struggling to get up from there. Bull, Martin, Joe, and Garcia were standing over him as Shifty and Babe were near me to make sure that I was okay.

"You don't ever call a Lieutenant that, not to mention a woman, asshole." Babe wanted him from in front of me as the private was getting up slowly from his spot on the ground, grasping his shoulder from the impact that he had. The rest of the Easy boys were standing in front of me now, keeping me away from him once and for all as the private stood in front of them all, including me. I was still shaking there, not being able to calm down since it all happened so fast and it made me want to pass out in both shock and in fear.

"You better run off back to the party before we go find a Captain and report to him that you were about to abuse a Lieutenant." Martin explained to him with his bitch face back on. The private looked scared for once in the whole night, having me see that he was about to pee his pants.

"You wouldn't." He said in a warning manner.

"He doesn't, then I will," Joe said to him in his death threat as he eyed him. The private looked at all of the men to see if what they were saying was, in fact, true. It was since no one was moving and no one was giving him any lead to making a move. Shifty was still holding me with his hands and staying close as Bull was now fully in front of me now with his arm crossed.

"Runoff, boy. Before you get your ass whipped by Easy. You even look at her again, you have to answer to us and the rest of Easy Company that she belongs to." Martin wanted him lastly, seeing the private slowly walk away from us now and back to the barn without taking another look back. I sighed in defeat as the others were looking over at me now, no longer in hate or in anger but in pain and worry as Shifty was once again rubbing my arms. He was the most worried, and I knew why.

"Did he hurt you?" He asked me in a worried manner, and I knew what he meant when he said that. He was thinking that the guy was going to push it like how Gerald did it with me. I shook my head as the others were looking at me, clearly not catching on to what he was saying and how he was saying it.

"No, he didn't do anything." I reassured him, seeing him sigh in relief as the group of us were still standing out there in the nightlight and having me close my eyes, wanting to just not be here and by somewhere else, anywhere else. This was far too close for me to get myself into. And it was worse that the boys got to see it and almost thinking of the worst. How much more of the memory of Gerald was I going to have to rely on, and when was I going to break down finally since I had to be strong and invincible all the time.

For a brief moment, I wished Ron was there to comfort me. But just for a moment.


	21. Chapter 21

_Dear Kit,_

_I'm sorry that I haven't written back to you anytime sooner. I was wounded in battle, in which I was sent to a hospital and where I still am today. The wound isn't that bad though it was enough for me to be sent from the line. It was Beta who dragged me out of there, since I was trying to carry information across the river to another set of officials. Because of Beta, I'm not dead and rotting in a river, so I owe my life to her and I am forever in her debt._

_Luckily I will be back in battle sometimes very soon with the healing that I am going through though I would rather be back with my men and with Beta. She is going to help lead the men while I am away though I was less reluctant to hand over the reigns to her. The men will follow her direction and leadership hands down, that much I know for certain._

_I was told what happened to you and I hope they took care of it personally. Sink came over to Dog Company as he as traveling through to get back to his home base, that's when he told me what happened. It was beyond a disgrace what happened to you, since clearly it was not looked on as a normal act within the army. Although it pains me that you were the victim of such an incident and how the soldier himself placed himself on you in such a manner, it is good to hear that Easy Company helped you in fixing the situation with him. I only wished that I was there to help with the situation because I know for a fact that if I was, the soldier would not be standing on his own two legs anymore._

_Sink tells me how Wolf Company is slowly going _through_ the war with the high exaltation and praises from the other companies that they are working with, including Easy Company. I support his decision on keeping Wolf Company within the war though I know other men are not easily amused by how great you and your friends are doing._

_I will let you know where I am as soon as I get there, although it might be somewhere in Belgium, but I had no real idea just yet. Beta is doing fine with the group, nothing too big to report to you on. She's keeping an eye out for me more than I am on her._

_Kit, Please keep writing to me and let me know how you're doing. I'm getting worried about you and with what happened to you and you're still a bit shaken up about it. I'm glad you're safe with the Easy boys, that does make me feel better._

_Talk to you soon._

_Yours,_

_Ron._

* * *

"She still hasn't been able to talk to us about it yet, sir." I was sitting Indian style, rifle in my lap and my fingers drumming against the top of it as we were in a new place now, no longer having me see the darkness that was now freshening me because of that one stupid private who brought back the sheer nightmares that I tried to forget. Ever since then, I didn't want to talk to anyone.

I wanted to be alone

I would go wherever we would go, do my tasks, but then the rest of the time I would stay by myself and have my own thoughts my own head. The others thought I snapped, well, some of them did. Others thought I was having a bad case of trauma, which was true. But none the less, I didn't feel like touching anyone or letting them touch me, since it would have me see the flashing images of both Gerald and the private and how they touched me in a way that was unholy and violent.

Shifty knew to give me space, and he was the one who pushed the others away when they found out what happened. Guarnere was beyond pissed, almost to the point of pure fury, as well as the others from Easy that were mad. They wanted to know where the soldier went though he was sent back down packing with his stripes stripped and his dignity left to be burned. After he left, the boys were still wondering why he would do that.

And most importantly, why did I shut down the way that I did?

"Has she eating anything today?" Lipton asked Doc, whom was talking to Lipton about my condition as I was still sitting in my spot near the opening out into the open countryside, not saying anything but letting the breeze go through my hair fly with the wind. It was late afternoon, and though Winters was now gone in Paris since he got a new promotion as an executive officer and had from leave left, Lipton was one of the officers that we would go to though we had another captain in command now.

"No, sir. I've tried to get her to eat, but she's not lettin' up." Doc explained to him with a hint of concern there in his tone as they were talking behind the door. I hated this since it was more than me suffering, but the others were thinking that I went off the deep end and there was no turning back. To make it worse, Ron found out what happened to me and was so certain that he was going to find the private and kill him.

What a romantic.

"I'll talk to her, Doc." I could only watch the view in front of me as heavy footsteps were behind me, slow and not threatening. I didn't move as someone was standing next to me, squatting down now as I saw a pair of hands out of the corner of my eyes.

"Kit?" It was Lipton, who sounded so gentle that it was like he was afraid that he was going to scare me if he spoke even louder than he was talking.

"Sir." I replied back to him in a hoarse manner.

"How are you doing today, Kit?" He asked me politely, having me look over at him and finally move my head. He was trying to read my face and my eyes since I wasn't giving him the whole lot of hints with my speech.

"I'm living' sir." I replied back cooly, since living at this point was all that I could do in order not to go crazy with my now mind. It sounded pathetic, but it was true enough for me.

"Kit, look I know what happened to you was not only scary, but wrong of that he…." Lipton trailed off, already uncomfortable with the whole talk that he was about to have on me, yet I still said nothing, "But you still need to take care of yourself. Okay? You have the boys worried about you."

"Sorry about that." I muttered back to him, hearing him sigh since I was not venue close to giving into being seen as a weakling, Not again.

"Kit, this can't be a healthy thing that you're doing, shutting us out when we are trying to come in and help you with this." Lipton explained to me, still calm about this conversation when anyone else would be already done with me and my stubbornness. I finally blinked once or twice and nodded in agreement.

"I know, I'm sorry." I apologized to him, seeing him give me a reassuring smile that he would always use on the men to make them feel better about anything that they were going through, "I didn't mean to be the…well shit, to be the wet blanket."

"You're not," Lipton said in a chuckle to me, having em grin back at him and feel my chapped lips move from that grin, "You're human, that's all there is."

"I hate being human. I prefer to be an assassin over anything, sir." I joked with him, seeing the grin still on his face. It was true, I would give anything to not feel the way I was at that moment, but not be in fear of having another nightmare or memory. I wished that I had no ability to feel, in general though it sounded sickening in my own mind,

"Come eat with Shifty and Doc. I knew that they would want that for you." Lipton explained to me, motioning with his head inside the house and I looked over too, seeing some of the guys talking together and two of them happened to be Shifty and Doc. It killed me that I was making them worry about me, though they both were the closest I was within the Company along with Bull. To see them look at me in pain since they couldn't do a damn thing to fix what I was feeling, had to have been once of the worst feelings ever.

"Can I have a minute, I don't wanna go in there looking like this." I said back to Lipton, motioning to my whole body but mostly my face since it was looking more pale and death-like than ever before. Lipton nodded his head, getting up slowly and was about to leave before I looked up at him with me own genuine smile on my face.

"Thanks, Lip." I thanked him sincerely. He was more of a protector of our own demons, keeping us in line with our minds and keeping our heads in the game.

"You're welcome, Kit." He replied, walking away from me now and having me breathe in the wind deeply. Lipton was right: this was not the way I should try and heal by making sure no one else was going to come in and try to make me feel better.

I had it all wrong, but then again I was used to being like that since I did the exact thing to my family after what happened to Gerald. It made me worry that I left a stain there, a bad one that can't be removed with a simple washing. No, I had to mend it someway.

* * *

_Dear Dad,_

_Things are going well here in the war. I had a few close calls here and there, but that is what I was training for: to make sure they stay close calls. You would be proud of me, at least I hope you would be with how I'm handling these men. I don't think Andrew or the others will be too pleased to see me barking out orders at them once I get home._

_Things are so strange here. it's more of a shoot first and ask questions later kind of deal. I have had to learn how to let things go and not question certain rules and practices when it came to warfare. Did you ever think of me as a killer? I know that sounds harsh, but then again…it's booming more a reality for me nowadays give my title as an assassin and all._

_I wanted to apologize for pushing you and the rest of the family away, after what Gerald did to me and how I handled it. It wasn't right for me to be in alone when I knew I needed some support, your support. It took me an act of signing my life away and being on the other side of the world in order to realize what I did was wrong and unjustly. I only pray that you find it in your heart to forgive me and understand that what happened…really happened…was a pure act of pain and agony._

_When I come home, I'll tell you all that happened. I swear I will. Pray for me_

_With all my love,_

_Your daughter_

* * *

**December, 1944**

**Mourmelon-le-Grand, France**

"How's Lieutenant Dike doing?" Nixon asked the infamous question as I was sitting on top of one of the desks in the meeting that they were holding, or at least the small pow-wow that was being held there with Welsh, Captain Nixon and Winters in his office, having me watch the conversation going on as they were discussing the new CO for Easy Company.

"3 weeks in Holland and the guys are already calling him 'Foxhole Norman'." Welsh replied with a cigarette in his mouth as he handed mug of coffee to Nixon who was sitting in his chair. I looked over at Winters who was looking in another file, something he's been doing for the past few days if not months now.

"Well, they're talking about a Mid March action at the earliest so, we train you guys for 3 months, You jump into Berlin, we end the war." Nixon explained as if it was the regular conversation as Winters looked up at him from his desk.

"The only thing holding Easy Company together are the NCO's." Winters said back to him, having me feel a bit bad that Winters was stuck in a position that he was no longer our leader, yet he was still trying to look out for us.

"And apparently Lieutenant Kit here is being sent back over to England, orders from Captain Jacobs." Nixon also commented as Winters looked over at me as well as Welsh. I threw my hands up in defense.

"You all know I go by his orders before yours, so don't act surprised when I get called away," I informed them as they were still staring at me with small smiles, "As it is, I have to go back to report back to Jacobs personally and get another assignment."

"Why personally? Why not wait for another letter?" Welsh asked me in curiosity.

"Because he's afraid that our letters are going to be intercepted by the Germans. Apparently it's starting to happen with the French and British armies and he doesn't want it to happen to us anytime soon." I explained back to him, seeing Winters eyeing me now. He knew about the situation since he too was informed about letters no longer were safe enough to send via airmail.

"Kit does have a point. Besides we don't need your assistance at the moment since we are still sitting here in France with the training we're going through. I know she'll come back around when we need her." Winters replied back to the group. I was still glad that he was a bit on my side when it came to my role in Easy. He was kinder enough to me as a leader and a friend, and I was smiled as the door opened to his office. We all looked over to see the orderly that was working for Winters poking his head in.

"Sir? A Sergeant Guarnere is here for you." he said kindly, having us all grin as Bill walked into the room with a stiff in his leg from his recent injury.

"Look at what the train brought in." Welsh said in a gleeful manner as Bill saluted us from the door before coming in.

"Heya Captain." he said to Winters as he shook his hand. Winters was smiling, the first time that day I saw him smile and it made me grin from the sight as they shook hands.

"Welcome back, Bill." He replied back smoothly in his lighter tone.

"Jesus, it's true. I'd never think I would see you behind a desk, sir." Bill commented as he shook hands with Nixon and then looked over at him from my spot on the desk next to Nixon. I shook his hand as he grinned at me.

"Looking good there, Kit. You doing okay?" He asked, almost sounding a bit worried.

"Doing fine, Bill. Glad to see you're back." I replied back lightly as he grinned before looked back to Winters. I was, in fact, glad to see my friend, we needed some lightness in this time of darkness of the war.

"Someday you'll sit behind it." Winters added to the desk comment.

"Well, I just went AWOL from the hospital to get back here, sir. I hope that's not going to cause a problem for ya, sir." Bill said in a manner in which I could see he was worried that Winters was going to disapprove of him.

"Would you care if it did?" Winters asked in which Bill smiled with his smirk.

"Not a bit, sir." He sneered before reaching into his pocket to take something out, "I got a letter for you here from Moose, Lieutenant Heyliger, sir." Winters looked relieved when he took the letter from his hand carefully before Bill looked over at me though I had no idea why. He tapped his pocket to his pants, having my eye advert down to see another letter in his pocket before looking back at him. He mouthed one word to me that made me wish that I was not in the room with all the officers there.

"Spiers." He mouthed, having me wink at him once before he looked back to Winters.

"He's recovering, but it's gonna be a long hall." He explained to Winters as Winters was watching him carefully.

"Thanks, Bill." Winters thanked him, tough the mood was set down a bit because of the recent topic of Moose and how he was injured back in late October from a misfire from another private. It resulted in Moose being rushed to the hospital, and a hysterical Doc who was mad at both Welsh and Winters for not taking care of Moose correctly. It took me a solid 30 minutes to calm down the Doc from his ranting against the officers and how they were irresponsible. It scared me to see how heated Doc was, but who was I to judged him when I had no idea what was going on in his own mind at that moment.

"So I hear there;s gonna be a football game? Those guys in the 502nd?" Bill asked in a lighter manner to change the subject and make it light again in the room. The other men chuckled as Welsh spoke then.

"Oh yeah, Christmas day."

"Great. Skytrain boys." Bill commented with his smirk back on his face as he looked back to Winters,

"Can't wait." I looked over too, but seeing Winters already reading another paper and not looking back at Bill made me worry. How much more was he going t take with this whole thing, since he was clearly not in the mood for this topic.

"Great. Well, I just uhh..I'll go find some trouble." He said, then saluting Winters whom finally looked up and saluted back as Welsh commented, "You do that."

"Bill?" Winters asked as Bill turned back to him.

"Sir?" He replied.

"No more joy riding, okay?" He asked carefully, in which Bill nodded his head before he asked another question while pulling out a piece of paper and reading off of it.

"Anybody ever heard of a little joint called Lulu's?" He asked, no one answering at first since we all had no clue.

"Nope." I replied, along with the rest of the men.

"I'll just ask around." He replied with a shrug of his shoulders before he limped off. I hopped off the desk, since I both didn't want to stay in the office that was feeling more stiff by the second and I wanted to get the letter from Spiers that was in Bill's pocket.

"I'm gonna check on the boys." I said to Winters, saluting him and seeing him salute back along with Nixon and Welsh. I grinned at him as I walked out of the room and joined Bill down the hall.

"Well, that went great." Bill commented to me as we were in step together to go out back on the grounds again.

"Face it Bill: you came in at an awkward time." I confessed to him, seeing him eye me as we opened the door into the chilly afternoon and hearing the other soldiers walking around and talking before Bill stopped to stand in front of me.

"Give it to me straight, Kit. How is Easy lookin' since I was gone at the hospital?" He asked me carefully, having me draw in a shaky breath.

"Not as good as it was with Winters running it, Bill" I replied, seeing him shift around a bit with a bad look on his face.

"It's like Sobel all over again, ain't it?" He huffed out in an almost angry manner.

"Dike's no Sobel, but he's not Winters either," I commented to him in reassurance, "We have to make do with what we have. If Winters thinks he's a good fit, then as long as he doesn't get us killed I'm okay with him."

"You have so much faith in the guy.' Bill said to me almost in a cocky way but then again still not sure about it.

"It's not faith, Bill: It's called hope and optimism. You should use it sometime." I reminded him, seeing him eye me as I shrugged my shoulders at him and he then reached into the pocket to pull out the letter that he motioned to earlier in the office.

"Spiers found me before I went AWOL. He was still in the hospital when I talked to him last but was about to get out, though he told me to give you this." He explained to me as he handed me the envelope and I saw my name written on the front in his handwriting. I held it there for awhile in front of Bill, a small smile on my lips there as Bill spoke up again.

"You two are close now take it?" He asked me though it sounded a bit skeptical when he said it. I looked at him with a confused look since it sounded a bit off.

"We write to each other." I replied back smoothly though he wasn't buying it.

"That's not I see that smile." He replied, having me suddenly give him an adept glare. He was about to be an older brother ad give me a hard time.

"Oh come on, Bill. We're just talking back and forth and being friends, nothing more." I explained a we walked on some more together over to where the other Easy boys were in their area. As we walked I shoved the envelope in my pocket, knowing that I had time to read it later not when I was surrounded by the other guys who I would know would give me more of a hard time than what I was already getting from Bill.

"He doesn't seem like the talking type." Bill remarked to me as we were walking once again. I rolled my eyes since he was clearly trying to prove some kind of point.

"Okay, I get it: you guys are seeing that he's not a talking kind of guy when it comes to conversation. He happens to be a good friend to have around these days," I paused, seeing Bill eye me then, "Apart from you boys in Easy."

"Sure, sure. I'll tell Shifty and Doc next time I see them." Bill joked, having me shove him in the shoulder as we walked and he chuckled at my antics with him.

"Anyways, we like writing to each other. it's not like their love letters or anything." I reminded him, seeing him nod in agreement.

"I would know since I doubt he has the capacity to write that kind of letter." Bill joked with me, though I grabbed his jacket to have him look at me now as I gave him some kind of stare then to show that I didn't want this to be some kind of scandal.

"Do me a solid: don't mention this to the boys." I said to him in almost a command, but I also got make it sound gentle. The last thing I needed right now since I was getting back to my normal self was the boys making fun of me for writing to another soldier who already had enough stories against his name. This would be disastrous, almost getting me in trouble to the point of being sent home if anyone from the higher authority found out. Bill just gave me a small smile.

"I won't say a word, promise." He reassured me, having me hear the seriousness in his tone in that he wasn't going to say anything to the guys. He was popular with the men, a bit on the harsh side, but they liked him none the less. Bill was still a good friend to me, since I never had a real problem with the guy to begin with I could trust him when it came to fighting in the war and getting through the day with pure adrenaline and a rush of energy.

"Thanks, Bill." I thanked him sincerely.

"Eh, I know better than to argue with a trained killer than anything else." Bill commented to me with his smirk and cocky way, having me smile in agreement since he was telling the truth. I may be a female, but that didn't mean I wasn't going to be pushed over quite easily.

* * *

**England**

**December 13th, 1944**

I walked over to the building where I knew Jacobs was going to be, feeling the chill of the Winters air coming through the area as I was leaving the last shuttle of jeeps that was carrying the soldiers that were traveling around to being dropped off or sent off. Easy was still in France when I left for England, and with the blessing of the officers there, I was sent off without needing to be there for the men. Some of the other officers were being sent off on 48-hour leave, and I decided to use mine then in order to get this meeting with Jacobs out of the way and get back to Easy.

I saw the makeshift office that was being held on the first floor with the two privates that were standing on guard in the front. I saw the sign overhead the door that showed this was where I needed to be, and with my one army bag over my shoulder, I walked over there in hopes of what was going to come next for me. I was already missing Easy and the boys with their smiles and their jokes with me, their company was what got me through some of the months here in Europe.

"Lieutenant Kit, glad to see you made it here in once piece." I was greeted by Jacobs and Artemis in his office, seeing hi already looking worn from the war and how evident it was on his face and how he was sitting on his desk. But I saluted him anyways, seeing him do the gesture to me in return. Artemis smiled at me, standing behind Jacobs with her hair still long and braided though she too looked older since I saw her last with Jacobs. This office seemed a bit bigger, but none the less rigid, maybe because of the war and how much they went through.

"Thank you, sir. I'm glad to hear your progress with Easy, though I was still skeptical with what happened between you and the private back in October." Jacobs explained to me as I stood in front of him and his desk.

"Sir, that was a fluke incident that was taken care of." I replied back him though Artemis was right behind him and looked rather concerned about it. She signed to me What happened? to me with a worried look in her eyes. I just looked over at her with a serious look, not wanting to give too much away in front of Jacobs since he would know sign and see me sign back to her.

"I'm glad that you had to taken care of, and you're doing just fine." Jacobs said back to me with his Captain tone before he looked down at the papers in front of me, stacked nicely and almost untouched. I looked too, having me wonder if he ever even touched them as soon as they were delivered.

"I got orders that there will be some German artillery movement going on in Belgium, near a small town and forested area called Bastogne," Jacobs informed me, having me see him tap the top of the stack of letters with his finger as he was still watching me, "Easy Company is going to be sent there sometime within the next few days and you're going to meet up with them there."

"What's my objective?" I asked him, already getting my head back in the assassin Wolf Company mode. It's been awhile since I was on my last assignment from Jacobs, and this should be a regular routine for me to get used it.

"There will be a good couple of German battalions that are going to come through, and so far they are taking over that area and taking out our boys one by one. We're taking a heavy blow on our side, so I'm not only sending you in to take care of the battalion, but the rest of Wolf Company that I can get my hands on." I grinned as he explained this to me, a bit overjoyed that I was going to be working with the girls again all together, but this time, we would be out on the battlefield.

"Which girls?" I asked him with a smile on my lips. Behind him, Artemis grinned with her smile that made me so glad to see her again from being away from her for so long. She was a close friend of mine from Wolf and not to mention another person I can rely on with a great eye.

"Let me make it a surprise for you." Jacobs replied with the smile back on his lips, having me widely smile back at him.

It was good to be back with Wolf Company.

* * *

After meeting and talking with Artemis for an hour or two after I had my meeting with Jacobs, I was once again sitting by myself outside at once of the old porches along the cobbled street with my own thoughts back on Easy. I was going to be sent back the next morning and apparently heading over to Bastogne with the rest of Wolf Company women. It's been awhile since we were wronging together, and in those times we were back at Fort Benning and training together as if it was child's play.

"Hello, Kit." I looked up to see someone whom literally made me lose my thoughts within a moment because he was the last person whom I thought I would see: Ron. He was standing there in front of me on the street, back in his combat uniform as if he was ready to be shipped off back to Dog company. It's been a far long time since I have seen him last, the brown in his hair from the sun was highlighted and brighter with the paleness of his skin for being inside a hospital for far too long. Even his eyes were brighter, and I wondered if he always looked like for or was it because I haven't seen him in months. It almost seemed like a dream to see him in front of me, almost redlining me of the area I had before when we were talking in the art and no war was surrounding us and making us feel so weak.

"Ron." I said aloud in almost a gasp, since seeing him in front of me almost make me lose my grip on reality, in a good way.

"You looked glad to see me." He said with his smile, and his voice made me smile widely at him. I remembered hearing his voice over and over in my head. For some reason, being away from him for such a long time, it made my feelings for him that I was trying to bury down and not think about intensify just by looking at him

"Since I haven't seen you in months, it is good to see you walking around again." I said back to him, getting up from my spot and go over and give him a hug. We hugged there on the street though there wasn't a whole lot of people around to see us hugging there. But it felt right, him holding me close to him with a hug that I could feel soaring through my chest and down to my toes. It felt like he was holding it in and wanting to give me a hug for a long time.

"I'm glad to see you're okay, Ron." I said in almost a whisper to him as we were still hugging each other then. I could feel his one arm around my waist, almost in a decelerate way of holding me close to him as the other hand was resting on my upper back. With that hand, it was like he was afraid that I was going to sinking away from him and disappear. After all I went through, all of the shots I took and the lives I took away from this world, it all was no longer in vain or important to me as I was hugging Ron.

For some reason, at one point, it felt childish for me to hug him. Hell, I was a full grown woman who was trained to kill a person within seconds without blinking an eye, yet here I was acting like a little teenager with a guy and having a school crush on him. This seemed beyond morbid, and yet it also seemed so right since I was close to my 24th birthday late December. I never once and something like this and this was only a hug with another friend. Yet he didn't feel like it when I was with Ron, it felt like it was more than a friendship kind of hug. It worried me a bit, but once he spoke up after a few moments of us being silent together.

"I'm glad you're okay too, Kit." He murmured back to me, almost against my hair. I grinned.

I was glad to be back with my friend.


	22. Chapter 22

"How bad was the injury, Ron?" I asked him as we sat back outside on the street again, the both of us finding some time to catch up with each other before I knew I had to go back and find the jeep that would take me back to the Easy Boys. I didn't want to waste seeing him and then moving without hearing how he was doing since we saw each other last. He looked healthy, a bit battered from the war in general, but good none the less. he grabbed two coffees for us from the Battalion CP and we got to have a small reunion with each other.

"Got hit in the hip and along my buttocks, which doesn't sound too appealing to be fair." He joked with me, having me laugh and see his smile still on his face as he took a long sip from his coffee cup and then went on, "But it wasn't too bad. I didn't think it was."

"Of course, since you're the tough as nail Ronald Spiers from Dog Company whom doesn't show fear or pain." I commented back to him, seeing him eye me as we were still smiling from his recent joke.

"I hope I don't send that kind of vibe towards you, Lieutenant." he said to me with a careful tone about him though I shook my head.

"You don't, I know you better than that." I answered him as I reached down to take my coffee when he stopped me at what he said next.

"I'm glad I saw you today, since I wanted to talk to you about what happened to you." he commented to me, almost carefully like he was afraid that he was going to start something that was no right. I froze in my chair, not wanting to show the fear that was creeping over my shoulder and wanting to cover me like a blanket. I tried to push that night out of my head though it was never truly successful. I blamed myself for telling him via letter, but he had to know sooner or later since he was a trusted friend.

"Kit," He said my name with such sincerity in his voice that it made me wrap my fingers around the cup to hold not something and not cry just thinking about it, "What happened to you was not right."

"It's fine, Ron." I tried to move away from the conversation that he wanted.

"No it's not fine," He replied back within a second after I said it, his voice was still soft but I could hear the boldness there as he was watching me with those bright brown eyes that reminded me of home for some reason,"What he did was not fine, no matter if you were in the army or just a regular person."

"Ron, what happened to me could have happened to anyone at any time." I argued with him softly with my hand gripping the cup tightly in hopes that I would crack in front of him for how much I wanted to push the memory out and just talk about something else, anything else.

"But you of all people don't deserve it." He countered back though I shook my head slowly.

"You think you know me so well." I trailed off, not wanting to sound any more bitter.

"From what you told me in your letters, I happen to know you more than you would like anyone to know you," Ron informed me with his stare back at me, "You're a good person, and a good person doesn't have that happen to them."

"But that's the thing, Ron: I don't know who I am anymore because of this whole war." I confessed to him, seeing him watch me as I was still gripping the cup in my hand now with a deeper grip then since we were talking about who I was and who I was meant to be. I had no idea what my identity was anymore if I had to play the killer, or the scared little girl who was abused and bruised because of sheer enjoyment. That line was getting hazy and thin, making me confused on which side to be one and where I should be in the whole situation.

"I think you are a good person with a good heart, a great heart if I'm going to be honest with you," Ron explained to me softly with care there evident in his tone, having me look at him and see him watch me with his stance in his chair and how he was leaning towards me a bit in order to see how I was feeling at that moment, "And you're right: this war is going to make you question who you are and what you should be doing."

"How do you do it?" I asked him without even realizing it.

"Do what?" He asked, sounding confused.

"How do know how you are when you're fighting in the war?" I rearranged the question that was hanging in my mind. I wanted to know how to get through this war without being even more depressed or a mental case because of past bruises and burdens that never seemed to go away from me. No matter how hard I try, I was going to be haunted because of this and it was never going to get me farther in my life and never going to make be better.

"You remind yourself of who you are, all the time," Ron explained to me a bit boldly now since I was looking miserable in front of him, "And from what I know about you and what you told me, and in how you write and how to describe yourself, you're stronger than you I've yourself credit for." I smiled then, no longer wanting to look like a wet rag or someone who was depressed. He saw that in me from just our letters back and forth to each other, in how I would talk about myself and what I would see from day to day.

I never gave myself more credit than I should, and I would blame my past for me since I would hardly get any compliments that were real enough, only fake ones. They were the compliments my mother would use to get me to do better work in her favor, almost like a push. My father and Uncle Jack, along with my brothers, would give me the real ones from time to time when I was having a good shot with my gun. I never realized it until now, sitting and drinking coffee with Ron Spiers, that I was in need of a good realization on how I viewed myself.

"Perhaps after the war, when we got home," Ron started, having me snap back to reality to listen to him almost stammer though the next sentence that came out of his mouth, "I would be able to accompany you to a dinner…just the two of us."

"Dinner?" I asked, almost being too naive in what he as trying to ask me,

"If you'd rather go out for coffee, then we can go that." He added to make it sound better though I was feeling a hit of blush come over me. He just asked me out, on a date. This was a true first for me since Gerald was coupled with me and he made it sound like he was forced to ask me out when he did. But Ron was not joking, he was standing there and watching for some kind of reaction from me as I stammered out my answer since this was now a real new for me to get through.

"That's a first for me." I stated to him in almost an awkward kind of manner though he tilted his head at me in confusion with what I said.

"What is?" He asked.

"Me being asked out on a date. No one has done that with me." I confessed to him, seeing him not say anything for a second and drinking it all in. It sounded morbid, almost taboo. and I was thinking he was having those same thoughts after I told him that. How else would I say it? It may a bit out of the ordinary for a girl my age to still be single if you think about it. If I was back in Seattle where my family and their social of friends were, I would be a spinster by now. So it was very safe to recall that I was being asked out in the middle of a war when I was an assassin was a first for me, and for many people.

"Well, I hope that you would want to go out with me unless you're afraid of me." Ron joked with me though I could still see that he was waiting for a real answer from me. I just smiled at him, no longer wanting to keep him hanging in the balance then as I shifted a bit in my chair.

"I would love to go to dinner with you." I replied smoothly, thinking it would be a nice first for me and something for me to look forward to in the near future. He grinned at me, having me want o engrave that smile on my mind for the rest of my life because of how sincere it looked on his face, not to mention handsome and kind.

"However, I do have one rule." I said to him, having me watch as he shifted uneasily from how I was talking about it, almost like a we were in a business meeting of sorts.

"I'm listening." he said back to me.

"If you're going to take me out to dinner, I want a cheeseburger." He was a bit take back with my demand, because it sounded so out of the ordinary when it came to a date. I just smiled at him as I took the last drink of my drink from my coffee cup though he was still stunned with what I was asking him.

"You want a cheeseburger?" He asked, trying to make sure he got it right.

"Yes." I simply answered.

"You don't want anything…nice?" He asked in almost a hint though I shook my head.

"I've grown up with food that's nice. Hell, half of the foods that I ate were spoken in French. It's sickening. The only thing I want these days is a cheeseburger." I confessed to him, seeing him chuckle.

"You've never had one?" He pressed on, looking a bit shocked from hearing this new thing about me.

"Christ no. My mother wouldn't let us go near a cheeseburger since she thought it was too common to us in high society." I playfully replied, the both of us chuckling in our spots at the table.

Yep. All I wanted was a cheeseburger and a way to get my head straight again.

* * *

**December 17th, 1944**

**Bastogne, Belgium**

It was cold. Too damn cold.

I was walking along one of the branches that were high above deep in the trees, snow falling over us lightly and blanketing the area in Bastogne, where we were now located in the middle to late December. I was out there in the middle of wonder of a Belgium forest, walking along the branch tree line with my eyes on an upcoming German Battalion that was coming my way.

Or our way to be specific.

Artemis was about fifty feet ahead of me, three trees down the line and higher up with her bow loaded and ready in her hand to use in front of her. I had my own bow and arrow loaded in front of me, the sheath against my back and my two pistol against my sides and my rifle also along my back. We both were in charge of the sky view as the others were hiding out in the ground and nowhere in sight for the battalion to come in and see them. Viper was behind one of the thicker trunks, Spade on the ground floor behind two fallen trunks, Ace and Nova underneath some bushes and Beta was halfway up a tree against the trunk and was small enough to not be seen in her all black attire with the dark pine needles and branches around her. We were all dressed in our slim black uniforms, hoods on and over our heads with no use of helmets and black coverings over our mouths and noses.

I walked back and forth along the branch there, seeing the German soldiers that were right below us and waiting for some kind of move from one of us to start firing. But they needed to be in the perfect spot for us to attack, and we were just waiting at this point with no intention of giving our position away. I could feel the chill against my neck and face as I was pacing high above them, not making a sound at all in my walk and the touches of snow hitting my hair and nose as my eyes were on the German men below us.

Easy Company was safe and away from here though they were on the line and on high alert for anything that could be coming their way. We were sent there to make sure this battalion, that was scheduled to take out Easy from behind, would not make it there to fulfill their end of the bargain. We were there to stop and kill them from going anywhere near Easy and the other Companies on the line, which was small.

"_Wie weit sind wir_? "(How far are we?) One of the soldiers asked as I looked over to Artemis. She was pacing herself though she looked over at me as the soldiers kept talking.

"_Eine weitere Meile und wir werden sie finden._" (One more mile and we'll find them.) Another one replied as Artemis nodded at me once, the signal for the both of us to start our end of the shooting. I pulled the bow up and had the arrow drawn back, Artemis doing the same as we both aimed for the ones in the back. We were going to get those ones out first so that they wouldn't be hard when they fell because of the blanket of snow there to cushion their fall. We aimed for the necks, Artemis releasing first and myself second. They both gasped out through the heavy footsteps and the snowfall masked their gasps from the others and they fell.

Two down, twenty-eight to go. Twenty-eight against seven.

We both reloaded quickly within seconds and then snagged two more before one of the other found out and turned around. He saw four of his friends bead, arrows sticking out of their necks as Armies reload and aimed at him right in the face.

"_Was zum teufel—_" (What in the hell—) He was cuff off when he was shot in the head by Artemis, right into his nose and the others looked in panic. They landed their guns, though they were not fast enough to look up and find us when Spade hopped up in broad daylight with her two pistols, getting at least four of them within two seconds before they started shooting at her. While they were about to run a there, Viper whirled around a trunk and threw one knife at a German, having me hearing him gag and hit the floor with his blood touching the pure white snow.

Eight down, nineteen to go.

Artemis was moving through the branches of the trees since some of them were trying to shoot both her and myself, but we were faster with our bows in hand and Spade already taking them out with her pistols at lightening speed. Ace and Nova had their rifles out, still underneath the bushes and capping off knees of the men who were trying or run off. Beta got her hands on two soldiers and knocked out their weapons from her hands to she can take them out with her fists. Nova was taking out the ones aiming for me as Viper threw out more knives from her hips. I got my bow back in its attachment to the sheath on my back before I grabbed my rifle, cocked it and aimed at the ones who were still around and trying to at least run and get out of there. I was getting the runners, since this was a job that needed all of the men dead.

We had eight left.

Artemis was finishing off her bows and Beta grabbed another guy by the head, throwing him down on her knee that was flying up to split his head open from the force. Ace and Nova already got out of their hiding from the bushes at this point as we were finishing off the massacre that was before us. I got out the last two runners, both with shots in the neck as no one was left alive or breathing. The silence was around us again, no longer littered in gunfire and gasping for any last air in lungs and the gaging of blood in mouths. No one move for a moment, all of us staying still to see if someone from the German battalion was still alive. It was silent.

We killed them all.

Artemis and I got down from the trees and walked over to the rest of the girls. We all stood together and took off our masks to see our faces and our hoods from over our eyes and hair. It felt surreal to be done with our assault and standing around each other like this was just another day at the office. It was the first time we fought together in this war though it was no longer a practice routine that we used to have back at Fort Benning.

This time, it was real.

Nova fished out a cigarette and lit it as Artemis placed her bow back in her sheath behind her.

"That went well." Spade commented nonchalantly as she loaded her pistols had in their holsters on her hips.

"It could've been worse." Viper mumbled as she grabbed a handle of one of her daggers sticking out a dead soldier, pulling it out and rubbing the blood off on his jacket before folding it and placing it back in her hip pocket.

"How so?" I asked and signed at the same time in wonder as she eyed me with a shrug of her shoulders.

"Could have been fifty of those guys." Viper answered.

"That's not worse. We could have handled fifty." Spade replied as Nova took a long drag on her cigarette, "What could have bene worse if we had about 100 of those guys."

"Really? 100?" I asked with skepticism in my voice as the other watched me. Spade's smile slowly came on her face. No matter where we were, we were having a good time there just being around each other again after being separate for far too long.

"Alright, 150 then."

* * *

_How's Easy treating you?_ Beta signed to me as we were walking together though the forest and the others were behind us though we were leading the way back over to the line that Easy was at after our assault. We could one again hear nothing around us as we were walking in the snow and through the trees. It was a haunting silence that would scare people if they weren't soldiers and they weren't trained to get used to it and listen to it. Since anything could happen in the silence.

_They're treating me just fine. I like them all like they were my brothers._ I signed back to her with a small smile on my lips, _How's Dog Company treating you?_

_They're alright, very good men to work with_. She signed back to me with her gentle grin on her face. even walking in the snow with her slim black combat uniform on and her face looking a bit gruffer than usual, she was still looking rather young and innocent with her long hair in a dutch braid though some strands were flowing in the cold and her bright gray eyes were cool in the daylight. Although she was older than me, she looked so young and innocent as if she was not meant to be there with us in the middle of the war.

_Lieutenant Spiers is a good man to work with._ She signed to me with her war face facing me and a small smile appearing on her lips.

_He told me you saved him from dying. That was very kind of you._ I thanked her, seeing her shrug her shoulders.

_I had to do what I had to do, for the sake of the Company. Plus, I don't think you would be happy if I left him to die._ She replied slowly, seeing the confusing look on my face as she was signing this to me as if it was another casual conversation.

_As if I have some kind of claim on him._ I argued with her as we were still walking, though I knew the ones behind me were not going to look at our conversation since they were still talking and looking our for anything or anyone that might be a threat to us.

_According to him you do._ She remarked to me though now I wanted to know what was really going on with him as I placed a hand on her arm to get her attention fully on me now.

_What does that mean?_ I asked with a confused and unappealing look on my own face. She sighed, looking back at the rest of Wolf before going back to look at me and then slowly signing it to me with a serious look on her face.

_Ron likes you_. She stated, almost in a stiff manner to get the point across. _He really likes you. I know he does when he talks about you with me, and the other day after he came back from talking to you, he told me he asked you on a date._

_Do you guys ever keep secrets from each other?_ I joked with her, seeing her smirk at me and shake her head. I rolled my eyes as she squeezed my hand that was on her arm to have me look back at her. I loved talking to her, she reminded me a lot of my old teachers back at school that would listen to me cry when I had a bad day, or listen to my crazy stories with a wide smile and a kind heart behind it. She was very close to me, and I would do anything for Beta and she for me.

_I can see you like him, and he likes you. There's nothing wrong with that. You know that, right?_ She asked me that carefully, almost as if she wanted to make sure it was the right thing to tell me. It made me pause, thinking about ho Ron and I got to the point of liking each other and showing those feelings to one another. Now it was going to be a pain.

This was just what I needed: having another Lieutenant pine over me while I was trying to do my own task in the war and not die from either a gunshot to the chest or from my own nightmares. How he saw any interest in me, I had no clue. I must be this oblivious to the men and their feelings towards women, which must have been the problem with Gerald and how I did not see that coming.

_Don't think about it too much. You overanalyze things anyways._ She commented to me with her smirk back on her face. I shoved her to the side playfully after the nice insult she threw at me. She giggled as we were still walking together and the conversation was dropped. We knew we liked each other, and that was already one person too many to know about this. Hell, I was still trying to get used to the notion that Ron and I had feelings for one another. It was a rough and awkward thing to wrap my head around.

But then again I didn't mind it at all.

* * *

"Hold up, I hear gunshots." I said to the others as we all froze in a line in the forest again, having me suddenly hear the gunfire going off far away from us, but directly in front of us. This made me panic since in front of us, according to the map, Easy was supposed to be there. But that meant they were in trouble now. The gunfire was going off chaotically, and then there was a loud explosion going off. It was a mortar, and I cocked my gun as soon as I heard it.

I was pissed.

"They're in trouble." I said in a hiss as the other got their weapon ready as well. If it was me as the leader of the Company, I would lead them over to Easy and get the boys out of trouble and away from any kind of harm that was there in front of them. But then again, I was the youngest, and I still had no say in the matter. But that changed when Spade looked over at me, pistols in her hand and a look of determination on her face.

"Your call, Kit." She said to me, having me watch her now carefully and with bewilderment written on my face and eyes.

"My call?" I asked.

"They're your men: you decide what we do," Spade explained to me calmly, though I could hear the edge on her tongue because more and more guns were going off and another mortar was heard in the distance. She wanted me to decide our fate with the Easy boys, and it made me feel a huge weight on my shoulders now since they were looking for me to make the call: the youngest in Wolf Company holding the power there in my hands. So I just grabbed the rifle with both hands now and eyed all of them.

"We go and protect them." I simply replied. There was no sense of doubt here because Easy has been nothing but kind and protective of me for this long in the war. There was nothing I wanted more than to do the same for them when they needed it the most. The other girls nodded in agreement and got their weapons out and ready. We all were ready for anything that could be coming our way, but we were taught never to have a second guess on it. Once we were loaded and standing there in a ready stance, I was the first to started to run, Beta right on my tail and the others following suit.

We were a running force of a Company though we were low in numbers compared to the others, But that never did stop us from fighting and standing up for what we knew was right. The closer we were getting, the louder the guns were sounding and it was making me panic. Was someone already hurt? Who was in the most trouble? Were we losing? If we were, then we were going to have a huge comeback because of Wolf Company running to help them.

Once we were close enough, I saw some of the Easy Company members trying to shoot out and away from whatever was hitting them, and we could see the small scatter of German soldiers shooting back at them. I took the first shot, throwing up my rifle and stopping m running to get my bearings together before shooting down two soldiers within seconds. The others in Wolf followed suit, scanning out and shooting at the enemy before they could get a second wind and shoot back at us. We were spreading out and blocking them from running out and away from us. We wanted to stop them at the sirocco and make sure they weren't going to come back with anyone else to get to Easy.

We were getting them left and right, almost like the domino effect for me to see as they were falling one by one. The Easy Company members were frozen in their spots to see us shooting out at the Germans without being hit or scratched. It would scare me too if I was a man: a bunch of women who were trained killers coming to their aid and taking them out without even breaking a sweat. It made me a bit proud that we did something like that, but then again I never wanted to be too proud of anything that I did. I got one soldier who was getting close to who looked like was Liegbott, another one was about to shoot at Buck and Bull and I got him right before he pulled the trigger.

Once they were all dead, not one of them moving and the smoke once again clearing from the area. I lowered my rifle slightly to see some of the Easy men that I knew there, hiding behind trunks and foxholes that they were taking refuge in. I knew those faces: Babe, Malarky, Shifty, Sisk, Joe Liebgott, Bull, Buck, Johnny Martin, Muck, Penkala and others there watching us with open mouths and looked in pure shock as they were seeing a bunch of women in front of them with weapons. I wonder what they were thinking at that moment, so I was the first to speak up finally.

"Hello, boys. You missed us?"

* * *

"Well done there, Kit.' Winters said to me in his shaky tone since he was clearly cold. I smiled at him as the others in Wolf were talking to Lipton and Nixon, along with Luz and Guarnere. They were talking to them all with grins on their faces on how we saved their asses and how great we looked taking them out, almost looking like superheroes in the process.

"Thank you, sir. We heard the trouble coming from about a half mile out and we knew it was you." I explained to him, shifting in the cold to keep warm.

"We are very thankful for you and Wolf Company coming to our aid. We're not having a good amount of support out there with limited supplies and other Companies." Winters informed me though it hardened my heart to hear him say this. They've been in trouble since I was gone and since they came here? How bad was it? It must have bene bad enough since they all rather miserable being out here in the cold.

"I'm glad we came at the perfect time," I commented back to him, "Though the rest of the girls are going to have to report back to base in England. We were ordered to come in and take out a specific Battalion that was coming your way."

"Good to know, though you'll be staying with us?" Winters asked me as I looked over my shoulder at the sight of Artemis and Spade talking to Guarnere and Malarky and they were laughing about something that they said to each other. I grimaced, knowing that I was going to leave the girls once more and stay with the guys. It was a bittersweet moment for me since they were together for such little time in my life. I had to look back at Winters with a small smile on my lips.

"I'm staying with Easy."


	23. Chapter 23

I remember those days of just….walking to and forth over and over again in the snow and the cold biting at my skin. I was used to it, hell Colorado was cold from time to time within the years. However, it was still cold enough for the men to lose their spirit and become bitter within their hearts. If I was in their position, I would be bitter as well since the cold was combining me all over my body. But then again, I tried my hardest to never loose hope within those bitter nights that were unbearable to sleep, or the mornings where we hardly had anything to eat or fill us up for the next round of battle and wounds.

One of the mornings consisted of me walking along the battle line, rifle in hand and watching the cold ground for anyone coming out to shoot at me. The quiet is what got to me that most, the quiet of the fallen snow and how anything could strike out at us. I was getting used to the cold by now and the quiet of being alone since I wouldn't let anyone come out to do patrol with me. They needed rest, more strength than I did since they were the one who needed to hold the line. Not I. No, I could be called away at any time for Captain Jacob's doing.

The men wondered if I was even getting any kind of rest since I would be walking around all the time with no words upon my mouth or any kind of smile there. I knew they were worried, but I had to make sure they were safe enough for me to sleep at night. I ended my walk over to where some of the men there, talking and sitting together around a small fire set there, trying to keep their hands warm with their coats and beards growing in along their jawlines. Some of them now looked 40 instead of their twenties, and I knew it was both the cold and the war that did that to them.

"Kit, aren't ya cold?" I looked over at Luz, seeing him wrapped in his own arms with his peacoat and the beard growing in there, along with his hair getting longer from the lack of a haircut. He was sitting with Muck, Popeye, Malarky, Buck and Bull over a small fire there, fingers shaking in the cold as I was standing over them in my own slim black combat gear. I was wearing leggings underneath with my arms and legs to keep me warm, though it was still a bit too chilly for me to get used to since we have been here for about a couple days now.

"This isn't too bad," I replied back to him in a soft reply though the others chuckled from how I was trying to keep it light with them, "Honestly. I grew up in Colorado for 6 months and had of that time was spent hunting and tracking in the woods."

"And I thought the tough rain in Seattle was enough for you." Malarky said in a joking manner though I could see him shivering now and I grinned at him from his spot next to Buck.

"Come on, Kit. Come sit with us and get warm." Buck urged me as I could see Bull eyeing me carefully and with concern on his face.

"I'm on patrol at the moment." I explained to him,

"You've been on patrol since 0600 this morning when you woke up before us. You need to rest." Bull urged me as well as Buck, his voice was rough but sounded careful as I could tell he was not going to let me move away from the boys now. I eyed him, seeing not only Bull watch me with his brotherly eyes, but the other boys looking at me to make sure I wasn't going to go on another patrol around. So slowly I walked over to where Malarky was with Buck and I sunk down into the earth to sit with them, placing the rifle off my back and next to my leg.

"Here, get a drink." Malarky said to me, grabbing another small tin can that was resting over the makeshift open fire that they made and I took it in my gloves to feel the warmth through the material. It felt nice to just sit down and breathe, after going through the constant walking to and from the line and freezing my ass off.

"Are the Colorado winters this bad?" Buck asked me in a husky manner since I could tell he too was freezing his ass off and trying to stay warm where he was.

"No, this is colder. But the snow there in Colorado, that was relentless. Sometimes it was so bad that we couldn't hunt deer or even bears." I explained to the guys, now getting their attention when I was talking about my hunting experience and what I did in the past.

"You were hunting bear?" Popeye asked with wide eyes as he then took a long drink from his can.

"Christ no. My Uncle wouldn't let me hunt a bear no matter how good I was." I said with a smirk at them all, seeing them grin but still keep their attention on me as I went on, "But I did hunt plenty of deer, some bobcats, some foxes and plenty of rabbits."

"Sounds like somebody knows how to live the full American dream there." Luz joked with me, now using his John Wayne accent with the smile back on his bearded face, "Huntin' season in the wild is the sign of a true American!" The men chuckled at his joke, and I even grinned from hearing that from him.

"There was this one time though, back when I was only with my Uncle for about a month. I was out on my own since I had to hunt for my own dinner. It was nearly dark out there and I couldn't see anything in front of me, but someone was creeping through the shadows there. It was a gray wolf, and they are hard to come by in those areas." I explained to them all, almost like I was telling a tall tale to a bunch of school boys around a summer campfire. They were all watching me now with wide eyes and open mouths from how this was sounding, almost waiting to hear what was coming next.

"He was watching me, straight ahead about 30 feet in front of me out in the wild. I couldn't move because I was too damn scared from what I saw, but I could see that he wanted to punch on me, ready to take two jumps and rip my throat out. If I would have moved, or even reached for my rifle and make once ounce of a noise, he would have killed me." I explained to them all in a low but inviting tone, having me see even Popeye lean forward a but since he was so enraptured with my story.

"What happened?" Buck asked and I could hear he was interested and wanted me to go on.

"He just….walked away." I ended it in almost a breathy manner. They all looked dumbstruck from how it ended, did they think it was going to be some kind of a big battle with a wolf and I somehow survived? I wanted to chuckle from seeing the reaction.

"That's it?!" Malarky asked in an unconvincing manner, having me giggle at him as the others were still in shock from how it was looking on their end.

"What? Did you think I had a fist fight with a wolf and lived?" I asked him with skepticism on my voice, the others grinning from how I was reacting to his reaction to me.

"But still, he just…stared at you?" Malarky asked me with a hint of agitation in his voice. I nodded my head and smiled at him, thinking that he would want to hear more to the story than that since it seemed more like a kill joy now that I was thinking about it.

"Have you ever really looked into the eyes of a wild animal, Malarky?" I asked him, seeing him shake his head, but his eyes were still on me, "When you look at a wild animal, dead in the eye, you feel like your whole soul is exposed to it." No one said another word as I said this to them, the looks of chuckle and humor were gone from their faces and they were once again intrigued.

"As humans, you think we are the most powerful beings on this god forsaken planet, but it's not true: wild animals are. They live to kill, they live to survive. We, on the other hand, are living to expand our mind and just get through the day. But we think we're powerful and we can overtake anything in front of us. But it's when we are literally looking at our death in the face….when we feel like the most useless things to crawl on the earth. When I looked at that wolf dead on, I knew I was no longer in power, but he was. Because, he could have killed me if he wanted to, but he chose not to." I explained to them all, tough we were still shivering in the cold. No one moved when I said this, having me wonder what they were thinking.

I remembered that evening with the wolf, how I felt like I was going to face my death then and no longer be alive. It was almost like the war: we were going to be facing death all around us whether we liked it or not. Sometimes, we had the power to control the death, but other times we had no say in how death worked and who it was going to take. It almost was as if I had to the boys as a reminder: we are not as powerful as we would think we were.

We were powerless to the forces of nature.

* * *

That night, I was waking once again around the area to check up on the boys. The nights were the worst for me, since I hated the extreme cold and how it would drop at least 30 degrees once the sun went down. Moments in the night were still haunting me though I never had the heart to admit and voice it out loud. It was official.

I hated the cold.

The night was tinted by the glow of the moon, which made it easier for me to walk around and check up on the boys. I was more worried about them than of me, yet that sounded absurd in my defense. It was still late in the night when I heard someone was running around, having me place my hand on my rifle near the end to make sure I was ready for whatever it was that was walking or running around near my left. Peering with my eyes, I saw it was a soldier with a medic band on his sleeve, having me sigh in relief.

Doc Roe.

"Doc!" I called out to him, running over to him almost a skip of a jump and seeing him look back at me with a worried look on his face. It might have looked like I was calling out to him for help, but I wasn't in need of any help as I approached him and I saw him once again with his hand on his satchel, ready for anything.

"What are you doing out here alone?" I asked him in wonder. The others were back in their foxholes and trying to stay warm without showing any kind of exposure as to where they were. So it was odd to see Doc out and about.

"Checkin' on the boys and make sure they're okay." Doc replied back to me, having me see that he looked a bit out of it with how he was walking around and almost in over his head. For the past few days, Doc has been running left and right since we were getting wounded day after wretched day. And yet he was still alive and still running around after the men, when was he going to break?

"You should get some rest." I urged him softly since he too looked like he was about to pass out from a lack of sleep in his timeline. But he shook his head.

"I have to get to Toye, he doesn't have any boots at all and he's gunna lose his feet sometime soon…" Doc trailed off as I then grasped his jacket sleeve to have him look back at me.

"Doc," I said to him cautiously, seeing him look up at me with his dark blue eyes that were almost black from the night light, "Go sleep." He watched me as I smiled at him, seeing him sigh in defeat and nod in agreement.

"The last thing we need is a medic who can't even stay awake because he's runnin' around. Come on, where's your foxhole?" I asked him as we both started walking together over to wherever he was leading us. He shoved his hands in his pockets now, trying to keep them warm since he had no gloves to work with. I could hear the other men, just a couple of them, singing in their foxholes off in the distance and trying to keep their moral.

"Over by Guarnere's." Doc replied back to me as we walked together, shoulder to shoulder. I have missed talking to Doc from time to time since most of these days were of me being alone and not talking to a lot of the guys. He was one of the few, including Bull and Shifty, that saw me retreating away from the others and mostly from the three of them. I didn't mean to do that to them since those three were my closest friends in Easy Company.

Once we reached the area where I saw Doc's foxhole, we both paused and Doc looked over at me with a small pondering look on his face, as if there was a question on his lips and he was wondering whether to voice it or not.

"Are you okay?" It was such a simple question to ask someone, yet when he asked me that, it felt like he was wanting to know everything about me and what was going on in my head. We used to talk on a regular basis, but since the incident with the private in the middle of the night, I wasn't really wanting to talk too much to my three good friends. I was too lost in my own prison of a mind to see what else was going on around me with the others.

"Okay, as I can be." I confessed back to him since I knew Doc too can read people more than they give him credit for. He was more than a medic when it came to that aspect, he knew if someone was doing okay, or if they were suffering.

"You don't seem okay." He explained plainly to me as we stood next to each other in front of his foxhole. I eyed him, not understanding where he was coming from.

"I don't think now's a good time in the war to be okay, Doc," I informed him, "We're just trying to survive nowadays." Doc knew what I meant, and I never wanted to think about it too much, but it was pure fact. Nowadays we were just trying to get through the day without going completely insane with the war and almost dying every other second within a battle.

"Come on." Doc said to me, grabbing my shoulder and pulling me over with him to his foxhole. I looked at him funny since he was somewhat inviting me into his foxhole.

"What are you doing?" I asked, holding my ground and Doc eyeing me.

"I wanna go talk to you in private, and out of the cold," Doc explained to me with a shrug of his shoulders, "Plus I think I have something that's gonna cheer you up."

"And what would that be? Because if it's alcohol, I'm not that type of woman you know." I joked with him and with a wink of my eye at him. He rolled his eyes and shoved me with his cold hand as he walked in front of me to pull the cover back to get into his foxhole.

"Just get inside, Kit." He ordered to me gently as he hopped in, disappearing into the darkness and having me hear him shuffle around a bit. I looked around at first, hearing and seeing nothing. It was safe enough for me to move over there since it felt like I was about to break a big cardinal rule by going into a foxhole with another soldier, a male to be specific.

"You comin' or what?" Doc asked from the darkness, having me sigh and rearrange the black slim jacket I was wearing before I walked over and peered into the darkness. For a moment, I saw nothing, but then I heard him light a match and a small glow appeared in his foxhole. I moved over to the edge and slid in, stopping as soon as I got inside and seeing where I was.

The foxhole was small enough to fit two people in there, perfect for Eugene as he was placing a lit match within a contraction that looked like he could make coffee or at least have a small light there. He was getting it prepped as I was getting myself out of his way and leaning against the dirt wall behind me. He was shuffling something out of his satchel as I folded my hands in my lap and waited patiently. His helmet was already off, having me see his jet black hair poking out and around since it was so short and being under his helmet for far too long. I moved my helmet off of my own head with the red short hair moving slightly in the wind that was coming from the hole.

"Here." he said to me in a huff, placing something in my lap and having me peer down with the glow of the light there in the foxhole to show me what it was. It surprised me: chocolate. He gave me a bar of chocolate, or at least was going to share it with me. I grinned as Doc shifted over to sit next to me.

"I got this earlier today at the medic station in town." He explained to me as he grabbed the bar to undo the wrapping and crack some pieces off for me.

"Who gave it to you?" I asked him, still in shock that he had literal chocolate there between the both of us.

"A friend." He answered though now I was eyeing him as he placed two pieces in the palm of my hand.

"Since when do you have friends?" I asked him coyly, now seeing him cock an eyebrow at me.

"My friendship circle doesn't only consist of you and Spina, just so you know." He replied back in a gruff manner as I chuckled and took one bite. I closed my eyes in bliss, tasting the chocolate and feeling my taste buds go to heaven and back. I was so used to military grub and food, but this was taking and feeling like ecstasy that was going all over my mouth. I only wished that I had more chocolate in my life, but one again I had my mother to thank for that because she had to restrict the candies on me.

"This is exactly what I needed." I said with a sigh of relief as Doc took a bite from his own piece and smiled at me as we were sitting together in his foxhole.

"I think we all need some chocolate nowadays." he commented back to me as I ate another piece. We needed more than just chocolate with all hat was going on, with all of our friends dying every single day at war. I think what we needed to just have once moment, hell one day, of peace without anything or anyone touching us.

"Kit," Doc said to me softly, having me look at him now and feeling a bit better because of the chocolate in my stomach. He was eyeing me again, the same soft eyeing look that he would give us when he was either concerned about our safety or curious as of what was going on in our lives, "You know I'm your friend, right?"

"You're one of my closest friends, Eugene." I said to him in more of a statement since now I was using his first name instead of the given name that the others in Easy gave him because of his medic duty.

"So you know you can tell me anything, right?" He asked me another question, having me analyze his eyes and see that he was telling me the truth. He wanted me to feel safe with him since safety and the sense of being safe was rare nowadays days out here in the frozen hell of Bastogne.

"I know something happened to ya after that guy tried to hurt you back by the crossroads," He explained to me in a more serious manner, "Ya haven't been the same since now you're more prone to being by yourself."

"He shook me up, Eugene." I explained to him calmly, thinking that this was the same conversation I had with Shifty all over again when I confessed to him what happened to me because of Gerald. He coaxed it out of me, and I knew that Eugene was doing the same thing again. But how was I going to keep this from Eugene since he was far too kind and a fierce friend of mine. I held the last piece of chocolate in my hand between my gloved fingers, thinking of how I was going to talk about this. I popped the candy in my mouth, then taking off the gloves to get my bare hands warm with the fire and then think of how this conversation was going to go. However, once I got my bare hands near the small lit fire in the foxhole, Doc saw something on my hand and he immediately moved to grab it within both of his hands.

"Hey." he said in a low tone, almost in concern as he cradled my hand within both of his own and looked at the top of my hand. I looked too, not understanding what he was looking at. But once I saw what it was that caught his eye. My heart dropped to my feet and I froze.

I had a scar there. A thick scar on the top of my hand.

"What happened here?" He asked, looking at the scar with his medical eyes and running one finger over the top of the scar to feel it out. I said nothing, because the scar was instantly making me look back within my own mind on how I got the scar, and the one man who gave it to me while he was drunk and on his own pride kind of high. Slamming my eyes shut, I tried to breathe, but nothing once again was coming out of me.

"Kit?" Doc asked me though I was ready far gone within my own nightmare that was plaguing me now and making me feel like I was drowning. HIs face was in my head, his voice was within my ear and his hands were back on me. I was reliving it within seconds though it was all in my head and making me want to be sick. My eyes opened, having me breathe out slowly as I looking at the dirt wall opposite of me.

"My fiancé….or ex-fiancé. He threw a glass at me and he sliced it." I explained to him simply since I had no real strength left to try and hide what happened to me. Doc was never going to tell anyone anyways, and I knew I could really trust him. He eyed me in confusion now as I dropped the one infamous bomb there that I would never want to have exploded around me.

"He did that?" He asked me carefully, almost hurt with what I told him. It sounded like I was hurting him from what I told him. But then again it was killing me on the inside. I finally looked over at him, seeing him watch me now with worry in his eyes and he was still cradling my hand close to him, almost placing it near his heart. So this left me to tell him though I was still wondering if I was making the right decision on telling him.

"It's a bit of a story, Doc." I explained to him in almost a broken manner to him, already thinking that it was going to be the conversation with Shifty all over again. Doc stayed still though, not moving an inch and waiting to hear what I had to say to him about what happened.

"Okay, I'll start at the beginning…"

* * *

Doc leaned back, deadpanned in the face and breathed out slowly as I was too once again lost in my own thoughts. After I told him everything that happened, neither one of us had the real courage to say something for a couple of solid minutes. I was drained, thinking that I spilled out most of those haunted nightmares and memories that I tried to bottle up inside since my talk with Shifty. Doc, on the other hand, was still in shock with his face and how still he was against the dirt wall.

"Kit…" He tried to say something, but he lost his words as I was once again looking at the scar back on my hand. I was now kicking myself over and over again for telling him about what happened to me, since every time I would think about or talk about it would make me want to vomit. But there I was, with one of my best friends in Easy Company, and we were just drinking it all in without losing our heads.

"I know." I whispered back to him, only hearing the howling of the faint wind that was over us and the foxhole. Doc took a shaky breath before he spoke up again to me.

"I don't understand….how could this happen?" He asked me in almost a croak like I was breaking his own heart from my own burdens and sins and bruises.

"I ask myself the same question, Doc." I murmured back to him since I knew it was true and I wondered the exact same thing.

"But to you? Kit….that's not right." Doc explained to me now with a bitterness there on his tongue, almost looking like he wanted to punch a wall out from what I told him. I squeezed my eyes shut, once again wishing that I didn't tell him and cause him this kind of pain. This was not what I wanted when I came to have friends here in the war: to burden them with my own past and my own bruises.

"I thought that coming here would make me forget, but it's making it worse," I explained to him calmly, though I need opened my eyes again, "And I try so hard to have this brave face, this whole image of me having my shit together when I know it can crumble at any time."

"Kit," Doc started, but I went on with my rant.

"It all came back to what that private did to me, it was Gerald all over again and I had no way of fighting back. I don't even deserve to be here when I can't even breathe without remembering him—" I was cut off when Doc slammed his hand over my own to stop me. I opened my eyes, seeing him watch me now with both protective and stern eyes. He scared me in how he was watching me, how he was making me feel so vulnerable. The only other person that has ever made me feel that way was Ron, yet he was nowhere near here. God, I wish I was hugging him again, or even near him and hearing his calm voice floating into my ear to make me forget and think of something else.

"This whole time...you were tryin' to forget," Doc stated calmly to me, never breaking eye contact with me, "And what happened to you was not even close to being morally right. I'm sorry." He sounded more broken than Shifty did when he said he was sorry. I just smiled at him, though my own smile felt shattered because of the conversation. Doc squeezed my hand then, never letting me go and having me become more grateful that I had him in my life as a close friend.

"So, that's why you froze up?" Doc asked me in worry, having me remember the moment after the private moved away and was sent home, when I was no longer my normal self and resorted back to the blaming stage of what happened. I was shutting down, with no way of being pulled back. So I nodded my head at his question, hearing him curse in French as I found my voice again.

"I can't sleep sometimes because all I see and hear is him in my ear. He makes me afraid to just close my eyes and sleep." I confessed to him, almost sounding pathetic as I said it. Doc scooted closer to me, our shudders touching as I saw him give me a small reassuring smile for the first time in awhile since we got into the foxhole together.

"Stay with me then." He recommended though I raised my eyebrow at him.

"What?" I asked.

"Stay and sleep here. I don't want ya to sleep by yourself if you're havin' these nightmares about that guy." Doc explained to me calmly, the smile still on his lips as our fingers slowly laced together and I felt the warm of his hand against my own.

"If we get in trouble, it's both of our heads." I reminded him though he shook his head and waved me off with the hand that was not occupied with holding my own hand.

"I don't think they're gonna check each foxhole. They know where I am." He explained as I found myself slowly lowering my head onto his shoddier without even thinking about it.

"But they don't know where I am." I argued, though a yawn was coming through since sleeps sounding so good at the moment. It was true that I didn't want to go to sleep since I knew I was going to have another nightmare again, but Doc was trying so hard to be supportive and protective of me since I told him what happened to me. Doc rested his cheek against my hair as sighed as I closed my eyes in defeat with the sleep there.

"And that's when you shoot them on sight if they're gonna be mad at you. Quit yappin' and go to sleep." He murmured into my hair as I smiled against his jacket. This talked went much better than I thought it would since Doc was still supportive of me as well as Shifty and he didn't automatically push me away like I thought he would. Well, I didn't think Doc had any kind of bad bone in his body.

That night I dreamt I was with Ron again, and this time we were holding hands and walking in a park about to kiss.

* * *

I woke up to the soft sound of the morning wind rolling through the forest then though I woke up peacefully instead of in fear compared to the other nights. I was snuggled up carefully next to Doc, who was still sleeping against his own dirt patch along the dirt wall behind him. There was no sign of pain there on his face for me to see, just a peaceful sleep. Our head were barely touching since they were turned to each other, having me wonder if he was watching me sleep sometime in the night when I fell asleep.

It was hurting my heart to see him go through a night of just watching me and making sure that I was okay. That was my job as the Wolf Company sniper, the one who was going to provide the protection, not the other way around. But Doc was, of course, the one who wanted to protect his friends, and since he considered me one of his friends, I was grateful for him.

Without moving too much to wake him up, I manured myself away from him and he still stayed asleep, having me crawl over to the opening of the foxhole where there was a small crack that had the sliver of light coming through. I grabbed the small opening and pushed my way up and through, having me blink a few times to get used to the morning.

It wasn't snowing, but it was still freezing enough for me to shiver now that I was used to the slightly warmer foxhole that I slept in with Eugene there as my warmth. Everything was covered in white, and there was nothing to be heard around the area since I figured everyone else was sleepy or out on patrol. It was eery that morning though I got myself out and was rearranging the jacket and pants I was wearing. I looked down, seeing the harsh contrast of my pale skin against the back slimming uniform that I was sporting, along with my short jawline hair that was growing little by little as time went on.

I started to walk in the snow, seeing the foxholes to my left and my right as I passed the men who were either snoring or silent in their sleep. I was glad to be out walking around, with my rifle once again on my back along with my sheath and the who attached there. It was good timing for me to go hunting on my own since I had time to kill before I would have to go out on my duties. The others wouldn't be waking up anytime soon. Besides, I needed the fresh air that would bring back peace and the memory of being back in Colorado and hunting out there by myself.

After walking for a good couple of minutes, I spotted something creeping through the white snow and I froze, grabbing my bow and an arrow silently before I could make any noise. Loaded it, I got low and placed my body near the floor, though I was crouching down and watching with my eyes on what it could be. Whatever it was, it was small enough to not be a human or a large animal. Once it was close enough, I could see it was a medium sized rabbit that was searching for some food. It made me grin and I got my arrow loaded, pulling it back and waiting for the proper moment in order to release it. And at that moment, I pictured that I was shooting away all of the pain that I was feeling and building up on the inside. If there was one way I was going to get better in a healthy way, it had to be this way other than me spewing out on other people that didn't deserve it.

So I released the arrow.

* * *

"Anyone know where she is?" I was walked back to the main camp with the three deceased rabbits strung up and attached to the strap of my rifle that was on my shoulder. I figured that as soon as I was done hunting that I should head back in order to figure out what the day was going to entail. But it was when I was close enough to see some of the soldiers walking around wide awake that I knew something was up. Someone was searching for me, and although it didn't sound too serious, to still was a bit off that they were trying to find me this early in the morning.

"There she is!" I smiled lightly as I saw Luz, Bull, and Muck walk over to me, the sleep still evident in their eyes as they approached me side by side. Something was going on, I could see it on their faces and in how they were smiling at me as if they were hiding from me.

"Looks like someone had a good morning." Luz commented to me, pointing to the dead rabbits that were strung up against my shoulder.

"I needed something to do." I replied back though I was still hesitant as to what they were doing there. It wax clear that they were going to expose something to me, almost like they were either waiting to ask a huge question or they were going to show me something that they were proud of. So I just smiled at the three of them.

"What's going on with you three?" I asked him carefully now with a hint of intrigue there. They all made eyes with each other, having me really see that they were hiding something from me and I was still being ever so patient a Bull finally spoke up with the cigar in his mouth.

"Do you know the date today, Kit?" Bull asked me casually, but the huge smile was there on his face. I was still not getting what was going on and how this all involved me since they clearly had some kind of plan for their faces. It took me all but three seconds to get the date right, since most of the days never really consisted of me knowing the date of the month. I knew it was late December, but then I realized where they were going. I was about to argue with them, when they beat me to it before I could even get one word out.

"It happens to be your 24th birthday today, ain't it?" Muck asked in a coy manner, and the other two were in fact grinning. I only watched the three of them though I still didn't move from the spot because I completely forgot about my birthday and how I was now 24 years old. It was nothing too great to celebrate.

"So we decided, since not only it's your birthday but Christmas is around the corner, we were going to have a nice little celebration." Luz explained with confidence in his tone of voice though I still wasn't convinced that this was the right time or place for some kind of celebration.

"Sounds tempting, but what do you mean by a celebration?" I asked, not getting it.

"Well, it can't be no party since the last thing we need is to be caught by the Germans, but we still wanna do something for ya." Bull explained to me, having me chuckle and shake my head at him since he sounds a bit bad that they couldn't throw me a party.

"It's okay, I've never had a really party to begin with." I explained plainly, almost like it was nothing. But I saw the looks on their faces and how it was almost dumbstruck from what I told them that I never had a party before for my own. Was it that bad?

"You ain't serious, are ya?" Muck asked in a bit of a shock though I shook my head slowly because, to me, it was nothing.

"My mother never threw me one that I wanted," I explained casually, "She threw them for her, not me." They paused again, and for me to see that they were not liking what they were hearing, that made me see the conversation in a whole new way.

"That's it," Luz said in almost a declaration, the other two's eyes were looking at me over to him as I did the same. He looked like he had a mission in his eyes although we were still freezing in the snow that was around us.

"Luz?" I asked him, not getting what was now going on in his head.

"We are having a party."

* * *

That night, around a couple of fires, we were talking and chatting with each other with smiles on our lips and hope back in our heart and souls. The rest of the men corralled with each other, and after I skinned and roasted the rabbits that I got down and cutting them up for all of the men who wanted them, we were having our own party there in the snow.

Doc gave me more chocolate, Moose had coffee for me, Luz provided the night with his best jokes and impressions, Joe reluctantly gave me one of his cigarettes as a gift and Perconte gave me one his own with a big smile on his face. The rest of the men gave me their company and their best jokes that they could give.

Sure there were no balloons for me, not to mention no birthday cake. The past parties were filled with my mother and her friends all showering me with gifts that I would never use since they were too fragile or expensive, or just given to me just for no reason. But this birthday was different since I was nowhere near my family. All I had was roasted rabbit, some kind of brewed coffee that Moose made for me as a present, and some of the rowdiest men I have ever met.

It was the best birthday I have ever had.


	24. Chapter 24

**Author's Note: Thanks for reading and staying with me on this. I'm trying to balance out both action and her struggles! Message me if you think I need to change stuff and you have any comments! Sorry if it seems dragged on, but Ron and Kit will be reunited I promise, I'm trying to stay with the Show and it's timeline of who is where and when. Leave a review please! **

* * *

"Let us pray." All of our heads were bowed as we fooled our hands together and the combat priest was reciting to us the Lord Prayer. However, my mind was elsewhere. It wasn't that I wasn't religious, well that could be a sort of it. But right now, I was mostly thinking of the cold once again, and how Christmas was coming closer and closer now. We were still trying to survive the cold and the bad excuse for food that we would get from time to time as the days came and went like a fog rolling into a field. After my party for my birthday, things were getting back to normal for us, waking up and being on high alert for any kind of bombings or attacks on that that could some out of nowhere.

Doc, like Shifty, swore to never tell a soul about my past to any one of the boys. He too was someone whom I can trust with this secret and never really be able to go out and blab to the others, But even with the confidence that Doc and Shifty will never tell, it was getting harder and harder for me to breathe at night because of the nightmares that kept coming back. I wondered why this was affecting me so much now in the war than it did before when I joined with Easy. Why now, when it was freezing wherever I went and I felt like death when I was trying to stay alive?

It made no sense.

I looked around at the others who were praying, who were confessing to God all hat they did and were about to do in the future. They all looked content in their private prayers to God: Muck, Penkala, Perconte, Luz, Christenson, Garcia, Bull, and the rest of the boys. It made me feel left out since they were fine with their confessions, but I was still hesitant to talk to God. There was too much blood on my hands to ask Him to forgive me. I was a trained killer, of all things, and for me to ask God to forgive me for killing people felt like a waste of breath. But even after all the times my mother dragged me to church to make an honest woman out of me, it still didn't seem like a bad idea to at least try and get into God's good graces. I knew He still loved me, that much is certain I guessed. So I started my prayer, thinking that it was now or never that I would try and get my soul saved.

Lord,

I do pray that you do forgive me for the sins that I have committed. I know it was not in your will for me to kill people, but I pray that you dog forgive me. I am covered in sin that I don't deserve you at all. Please forgive me and please spare my soul.

"Fight well for your God and your country. God bless you all. Stay Safe." He ended the service for us as we crossed ourselves and got up from our knees. Some more snow was about to fall on us as he was packing away his service tools for us that he sued as we got our own things together. Muck was smiling over at Babe when he spoke up.

"That's it, guys. Nothing more to worry about. We gonna die now, we gonna die in a state of grace. Ain't that right, Babe?" He said over to Babe with a smirk on his face as I looked behind me to see someone walking over from the edge of the clearing: Doc. He was carrying a small crate with a bunch of stuff in the crate, including a pair of boots and some other supplies. We made eye contact with each other, and I saw a small smile on his lips as I smiled back at him. He was looking a bit better these days, though he was once again running around and trying to mend the boys that were broken. The recent one was Sisk, who took an injury to the leg and was taken to the town by Doc himself and apparently stayed there for healing.

"Battalion want a reconnaissance patrol. Kraut-hunting." Spina explained as he walked over to Doc.

"All right. I'll go. Take these. Give the boots to Joe Toye. Tell them they're a nine." Doc explained to Spina as he dumped the crate into his arms. As I was walking away to follow the men who were going on patrol, I was getting worried. Doc wanted to join made me wonder if he was ever going to find some kind of rest that day. Not only did he survive our last hit, but he just got done taking care of Sisk and his injured leg. Doc needed to have some peace and rest though telling him that was not going to be easy. Doc was joining us at the edge of the clearing when I heard Luz asking Hobbler a question while Hobbler was helping Luz with his radio pack being placed on his back.

"Peacock's leading, right?" Luz asked Hobbler.

"Right." Hobbler replied back though Luz didn't seem convinced.

"Great. That asshole couldn't find a snowball in a blizzard." He said in a joke, but it sounded more like a grumble. I walked from my spot over to Doc who was rearranging the jacket he was wearing as I approached him.

"Doc," I said to him with him watching me now with his wide eyes, "You sure you wanna come with us?"

"Why not?" He asked me, still sounding his typical medic self when I gave him a worried look.

"You haven't slowed down all day today," I said to him in almost a warning tone, though I kept it light between the both of us, "I think you need to rest."

"I can handle a routine patrol, Kit." Doc said to me calmly, but I could tell he was a bit annoyed that I was calling him out about him needing to step away from the patrol. I knew he was headstrong in his work. not wanting to back away from doing something that he knew he could excel at. But I also knew that he was going to be wiped out with energy if he didn't slow it down and take a breather.

"That's it. Let's move out!" Peacock said to the men.

"Tactical columns, gentlemen!" Martin said to the boys as Doc was still eyeing me.

"Doc, you need to take a rest. As a friend, I'm asking you to sit this one out." I urged him with a hushed whisper since the last thing we needed was a scene of me trying to tell Doc what to do. We might be friends, but I was still a 1st Lieutenant at this point though I would rather not order my friend around and have a bad rap on my name. Doc shook his head at me, still having the look of determination as Martin walked over to the both of us and looked over at Doc.

"Doc, it's a combat patrol. Why don't you stay back and keep your ass out of trouble?" Martin suggested to him in one of his lighter tones that he would hardly use. I eyed Martin over to Doc, seeing him eye the both of us and see that he was clearly outnumbered. Reluctantly he nodded his head and we both smiled at him. It must have been that he had to hear from two people that he needed to take a break. I saw him look back over at me now, the small amount of stubbornness was gone from his face as I gave him a reassuring smile to show that I meant well.

"Come on, Kit." Martin said to me as he tapped me on the shoulder once. I moved away from Doc then, having me wish that I gave him a hug or something since I felt like he bruised his ego a bit. Looking back over my shoulder on more time before we walked on, I felt like I was seeing a puppy who was kicked one too many times when I locked eyes with Doc. Something about what I was seeing in his eyes made me wonder if he was hurt that he was not coming with us at all. I turned to face him, signing to him _okay?_ to make sure he was alright. He nodded his head, signing _yes_ back at me and I smiled weakly at him before turning back to face the men. He may have felt wounded and abandoned, but we needed to have him alert and full of energy.

Not running on empty.

* * *

We were walking slowly now in the snow, hearing and say nothing at first as I was holding my rifle out in front of my body. It has been a good fifteen minutes since we have started our walk though none of us said anything. I still felt bad that Doc was left behind, but I had to think of the better of the Company and how every man was needed. He needed to stay behind and catch a breather, whereas we were needed on patrol. We couldn't afford to lose Doc though we had Spina. I didn't want to lose my friend, and I knew the others were feeling the same way too.

We slowed, hearing something far ahead of us as both Martin and a private named Julian were heading ahead. I stayed behind with Peacock, the both of us manning the others as we waited for what was ahead. I grabbed my scope from my pocket, placing it over my eye and scanning the vast forest in front of me, seeing nothing. This was not settling with me well.

Someone felt off.

"Feuer!" (fire) was heard off in the distance and it made my heart drop to the floor, now hearing the scattering pops of guns going off and then having all of us bolt up in a panic on what to do. We were waiting to see what was happening, but my gut was telling me this was not good.

"Go!" I yelled to the boys, hearing them all started to run as we then heard from Martin.

"Bull! Christenson! Up on line!" Martin was calling and it sounded desperate, having me sentiently run to his voice and the others following. The closer we got, the louder the guns were going off and we tried to stay low from being hit. I reached Martin, along with Bull and Babe. We were hiding behind a stack of logs when I saw what was making all of us lose the hope in our faces.

Julian. Bleeding out from his throat.

Babe stared to panic as I looked over the stack of logs, rifle cocked and ready as I started to fire at anything that was remotely close to looking like a German. We were trying to fire, but they were far outnumbering us and we had no chance since our eyesight was bad and we were too far away. This was going to be hell on earth for us since they were winning, and Julian was bleeding to his death.

"I can get him sarge!" Babe yelled to Martin as I took another shot though I knew it was meaningless since they fired back and we ducked to get out of harms way. Babe's eyes were on Julian, and as he tried to crawl out to him, they fired to pull him back and not get hurt. It made me look behind me to talk to Peacock about what to do, but I was dumbstruck.

Peacock was long gone!

"We gotta pull back!" Someone cried out, and I knew that had to be the case since we were going to die out here if we didn't move back and get our bearings. But Babe was not going to let Julian out of his sight though he wagon the verge of death and he wasn't moving too much anymore. This suddenly made me feel guilty, that I didn't see the Germans that fat ahead to prevent Julian from being in the position he's in now. Now we were stuck in trying to leave one man behind, making me feel as though it was all my fault.

"Come on, stay with us! Stay with us! Hold on! Julian! Look at me! Stay with us! Look at me! Hold on!" Babe was so desperate to save him, but there was nothing we could do since they were not going to let us anywhere near him from all the shooting that was happening around us. I tried to shoot some more, to find anything that was resembling a figure out in the falling snow, but my sight was now blocked by the intense snowfall and the debris falling around us because of the gunfire. We were stuck and not getting anywhere further because of this stupid place we were in.

I hated this, and I knew I wasn't the only one.

* * *

Everyone was quiet, and not one even attempted to make some kind of conversation as they were trying to wrap their heads around what just happened. We were back in our base camp, but none of us were even remotely happy. Once again, it was quiet there though I could hear the occasional coughing from Babe, who looked like his own heart was ripped into a thousand pieces, and we knew why.

Julian died in his own blood.

"We couldn't get to him, captain. We tried. Babe tried. We couldn't get to him." Martin explained to Winters who walked over to our fire. I was standing behind Doc, whom was sitting hunched over and his hands were in his pocket with a sore look on his face. He was watching Babe, who was coughing up a lung and then started looking at Doc. I could see the pain there on his face, clear as day and it pained me knowing that it was all because of Julian.

Specifically, because of me.

"Kit?" Winters asked me, having me keep my eyes on Babe whom coughed again and not saying word. Winters walked over to me now and was standing near me, though I swore not to move since I was still dirty and ragged looking from the previous assault that we endured.

"Sir." I replied to him, not wanting to be rude and not respond though the part of me wanted to just not talk at all from all the guilt that was flooding me.

"Martin told me what happened to Julian—" Winters started to explain to me though I just cut him off with what was flooding my mind.

"It was my fault, sir." I blurted out to him in almost a harsh whisper, seeing him give ma confusing look as well as Doc since he was close enough to hear. The others couldn't but having two already hearing what I just said was bad enough.

"What are you talking about?" Winters asked as Doc looked up at me from his spot, having me try and look away from him now and not having another wave of guilt flood over me. This was eating away at me, though I tried so hard to once again look like the bigger person and the soldier that I knew they wanted me to be.

"I didn't see the Germans…I should have seen them and warned the others." I said in a rushed manner though now Winters placed a hand on my lower back to usher me away from the others that might hear. I went with him the both of us moving way a few feet to keep the conversation to ourselves now.

"Kit," Winters said to me now in his own hushed whisper and low tone, "You had nothing to do with what happened back there with Julian."

"I have everything to do with it, sir," I said back to him, trying to campy voice down that wanted to scream because of what I was feeling, "I didn't keep an eye out for the enemy and because of that we lost Julian."

"Martin explained how heavy the snowfall was. Even the best sniper couldn't have seen through that, let alone all of us. They were too far away and too well hidden for you to see." Winters reasoned with me. Yet there I was, too stubborn in my own mind to let him in and accept what he was telling me.

"Sir, I am assigned to protect and aid this company, and because of Julian's death, I failed to do so." I explained to him slowly and almost breaking at the seams then because it was still sinking into me and having me feel like I couldn't breathe.

"Kit, you have been doing a great job as our sniper and fellow soldier. You have to understand that there will always be a fallen comrade, no matter what you do or who you try to save." Winters explained to me calmly, having me watch him as he was giving me a serious look now to make sure I was getting where he was coming from. He was trying to make me realize that there will always be death, no matter how good I was and how much I tried to prevent it: death was always going to knock at our door. I stayed quiet, thinking that I had no more energy to try and talk to Winters then and have him see my point of view. There was no use.

The guilt was getting to me.

* * *

That night was colder than the others, way colder than we were used to. It was to the point of shivering and having me feel the cold in my own teeth. I was deciding to not really want to talk to anyone because of the feeling of pain in the pit of my stomach, to once again be a loner and to have my own thoughts get the best of me. I need time to collect myself again, time to breathe and time to get my head straight.

Once again, ringing in the night and having it almost sound like a rhythm, Babe's cough was coming into my ears and having me shift in my walking over to where it was coming from. He was in another foxhole, not his, and I wondered why since his was on the other side of the camp. But it was no matter since I opened the flap and peered inside. He was alone, wrapped in a blanket and looking more miserable than before, He was too wrapped up in himself to hear me slink into the foxhole and stare at him in worry. Ever since we came back from the assault, he hasn't spoken one word and he too just himself off from the others around him.

"Babe," I said in a soft manner though he stared ahead at the wall and said nothing to me, "Talk to me Babe."

"He died Kit. Right in front of me." He said in a miserable tone, having me sigh and lean against the wall in defeat as well. It was bad enough that I was suffering, but to have another soldier going through the same thing as well was making it worse.

"I know, and it was my fault." I said to him, having me now see him watch me with a look of discontent there plastered all over his face as I confessed this to him. No matter how many times I tried to get Winter's advice in my head, it was still not enough for me to get by, not in that moment.

"What do ya mean, Kit?" He asked me now as his voice was still hoarse from all the coughing and pain there was within him.

"Look, I should have looked out for the Germans out there." I confessed to him softly there in the foxhole between the both of us, "It was my fault he died because I couldn't see them firing at Julian." The silence was hung in the air, and it made me hate the silence now because I was in fear of what Babe was thinking since I confessed to having some kind of responsibility for the death of his friend. I only wished that I knew what Babe was thinking and how he was processing this, but he just stared at me and took a shaky breath before answering me.

"You're not to blame, Kit." He explained softly to me then though his stare was still intense. I was amazed at how I was no longer feeling the pain of guilt, but just the pain of sadness. Babe just told me that I had nothing to do with it, and for me that was enough to go through the night. He coughed again, breaking the silence and I started to scoot over to him now, shoulder to shoulder as he was looking like he was about to cry.

Carefully I wrapped an arm around him and pull him as close to me to make it feel like a hug, and he melted into me without saying a word. We just sat there, with my arm around him and hearing him only breathe in and out in a shaky manner. I knew he didn't want to talk about it anymore, and who was I to try and make it worse when we both were already feeling like shit.

The flap was open once again, and before we both knew it, someone slipped into out foxhole in a huff and I looked across Babe to see who is was. It was Doc, and he was rebooting heavily like he was coming from a jog. I was glad to have found Doc, since I could tell he too was worried about Babe and how he was doing.

"Got ya," Doc said in relief though Babe was still zoning out from all that happened to him. Doc watched him, hoping to get something out of him, but nothing did come about, "Heffron."

Babe did nothing.

Doc then fished something out of his satchel within seconds though I said nothing and kept Babe close to me as he took out another bar of chocolate that made me smiled from my spot. He was trying to cheer Babe up and he held the chocolate out for Babe to take. Babe didn't move an inch, in which Doc in return started to unwrap the candy for him since Babe was still too paralyze to do anything.

"Edward." He said once again with his accent feeling the foxhole. He broke a piece off and handed it to Babe, who was reluctant to take the piece and ate it slowly, "Eat it. Good, all right.." I smiled at the sight of seeing him eat the candy though it was still trying to get through breathing in and out without breaking down in tears. I felt bad for him then, snuggling a bit closer to him now as he then took a shaky breath.

"I promised him if he got hit, I'd get his stuff and bring it to his mom. You know?" Babe said in a broken manner, having me watch him over to Doc who was looking rather bad about the situation himself, "Now the fucking Krauts'll strip him."

"Hey, no, it's okay—" Doc was cut off by Babe.

"It's not! it's not okay. I should have got to him." He said in a miserable manner and then started coughing again. I just stared at Doc, who looked so helpless in there with Babe in the middle of us coughing up a storm and almost on the verge of a nervous breakdown. I thought I had it bad, Babe was worse than me. I stayed with them that night, the three of us in the foxhole and just staying together since we had no real reason to leave Babe behind.

He needed a friend.

* * *

**Christmas Day, 1944**

More days were flooding past us, and before we knew it, it was Christmas and we were having our own kind of Christmas Dinner. The day before was already wrecked enough since Moose was hit and we were trying to once again not be shot and murdered in our own spots. Our moral was getting lower and lower since now we were just trying to breathe instead of trying to fight. No matter what the day consisted of, I kept wondering if we were going o get out of this place alive.

The nights that I had dreams were only consisting of two of them: the death of Julian and an afterlife with Ron. The Julian dreams were always bad, having me see red everywhere and how he was looking at me as if I was the one to blame for his death. It almost made me want to scream as I woke up from those nightmares within my own hole, in which I would have to literally run out into the open with my rifle and get my mind back at ease.

With the dreams that consisted of Ron, on the other end of the spectrum, I had a small glimmer of hope there because of how pleasant those dreams felt. They were brighter, almost as if they didn't even happen on this side of the world. Ron and I were always together, always talking and holding hands, and even in one of the dreams, we kissed. It felt like a real kiss to me since he wasn't showing any kind of regret in the kiss. It made my heart burst with both joy from what I was dreaming, and in pain because they were only dreams.

Only dreams.

Doc was silent again though Babe was reluctant enough to pull through from his dive into depression because of the death of Julian. Doc, on the there hand, was still trying to get through the day without keeling over in both weariness and shock. He was sitting against a tree trunk and I was standing near him, almost like I was on guard for him since my rifle was on my back, but my fingers were against the gun itself because it was my only sense of safety at the time. The rest of the boys were in a line to get food in their cans, but I myself was reluctant to leave Doc alone there with his own thoughts and with no support.

"One for the Doc." Babe said as he had two cans, one for him, and the other for Doc. I watched as Babe carried them over to us, lowering it to Doc and saying his name gently to get his attention. Doc never looked at him but grabbed it carefully, though I was now hoping that he would say something to show that he was okay. Babe moved away then, having me hear the sound of a jeep pulling up. But my eyes were on Winters, who was watching Doc with concern on his face too.

"We're all sitting down to a Christmas eve dinner of turkey and hooch back at the Division CP." It was Sink in his combat gear and all his glory, though none of us moved an inch as he walked over to Winters now, "Damned if I don't like old Joe Domingus' rancid-ass beans better. Hello, Easy Company."

"Hello, sir." We all murmured back to sporadically.

"Hello, sir." Winters said to him in his shaky manner since he too was cold.

"General McAuliffe sent a message to the entire division. Thought maybe your people'd like to hear it." Sink said to him as I stayed close to Doc and stayed quiet, as fit the rest of the boys there.

"That should be your prerogative, sir." Winters replied back to him, then having me witness Sink move over to face all of Easy.

"Men…General McAuliffe wishes us all 'Merry Christmas'. What's eery about this all, you ask? Just this: We've stopped cold everything that's been thrown at us from the North, East, South, and West," Sink explained to us all with the spunk in his tone, "Now, two days ago the German commander demanded our honorable surrender to save the U.S.A. encircled troops from total annihilation." It felt more of a pain to hear him say this since we've been through enough to have us all go crazy. We were just normal people trying to live int he cold, yet he was looking at us as heroes. I never felt like a hero anymore, I felt more like I was living in a state of insanity within my own mind.

"The German commander received the following reply: 'To the German commander: Nuts!' " After he said this, some of the men chuckled with each other and had smiles on their faces as he read on, " 'We're given our country and our loved one at home a worthy Christmas present, and being privileged to take part in this gallant feat of arms, we're truly making ourselves a Merry Christmas.' Merry Christmas to you all and God Bless you." Sink finished with his reading and I stayed quiet though my own mind was still hazy and crazy with what was happening around me. Was this all worth what I was going through, both with my hands on a gun and within my own mind? Was this what I wanted with my life at the tender age of 24? I was still figuring it out, but I stayed quiet as the other men replied back to him.

"Nuts, sir! Nuts!"

Merry Christmas to us.


	25. Chapter 25

**January 2nd, 1945**

**Ardennes Forest, Belgium**

We were now moving, which was a first in weeks now since we were used to sitting so still in the winter time. But now that it was a new year, we had new problems. Mainly, trying to clear a forest that was near a town that we would eventually take part in a battle. But as we kept moving, it was getting colder and colder though I tried to keep my own thoughts alive and alert.

There were times where I wondered if I was going to freeze to death while I slept at night, even with my dreams and reality morphing together I really did think every once in awhile that I did freeze to death. With every new morning came a new struggle to just keep going and to keep my spirit live and optimistic for the sake of the men in Easy.

Another problem we were running into from time to time was the fact that Lieutenant Dike, the one person who was supposed to bleeding us, was no where to be found most of the time when we were walking and making ground. The others were getting agitated about it, since he would go on long walks and yet no one knew where he was and when he was coming back. It made the other officers in the Company, including myself, Lipton and Buck, wonder if he was ever going to step up and be a good leader. I was loosing respect for him, but that was just me.

One of the days we were on patrol and going closer to the town of Foye, Hobbler got his hands on a German Luger, thanks to the assassination he pulled on a German Soldier who was riding on a horse towards us. He was proud of himself all day that day though the rest of the men and myself were digging up foxholes for the day and getting settled. It sad though on his end, because some minutes later he accidentally shot himself in the leg.

Died within minutes. Artery wound.

It felt a sour note in our throat from then on, but we tried to keep moving on with our lives in the freezer cold of Belgium. My mind would start to wonder if we were ever going to meet up with other Companies again, or most importantly, if I was ever going to see anyone from Wolf Company again. I would think Jacobs was still keeping tabs on me and my whereabouts since I haven't received a telegram or a letter from him at all. I prayed on the regular now to God that Wolf Company., wherever the girl were okay, and also that Ron was safe. it still surprised me that I prayed for Ron, since he too was clouding my mind as the days were going on more and more.

In one of our meetings that we were holding with Dike, he was explaining to us that he was going to be called away sometime in the future because of Battalion S3 was going to be planning on a move. When he asked if there was any questions, Buck raised the infamous one which I think we were all thinking and wanting to ask at the same time.

"Uh, Yeah. What's the formation you're wanting us to go for?" He asked, though there was silence for a moment or two as we watched Dike for some kind of answer.

"At present, as per usual, but I'll clarify that with you at a later, time Lt. Compton." He replied, having me really wish I could roll my eyes at the moment. Once he called us away and we were left without him, seeing him walk away made me look over at Buck. He too was looking frustrated about it, andante we made eyes I signed the phrase _This is ridiculous._

_More like bullshit. _He replied back, having me chuckle once before loosing it when Lipton looked over at us to see what we were going. I knew he was trying to be a good Lieutenant himself, but then again I wondered if he had his own doubts there. I would never want to cross Lipton he was both a find and dear friend,d but also a good Lieutenant who looked out for the men as if they were his own blood. There was still wonder if he was ever going to take over himself, since I knew he could do it and lead the men on.

"I'm telling you, boys, we're screwed." I could hear Guarnere talking to Penkala, Muck and Malarky as they were sitting in a foxhole, a bigger trust of snowfall coming over them along with some wind making it more unbearable.

"If you ask me, I'm glad Lt. Dike's never around." Penkala said in a bitter manner.

"Hey, you know what? We're doing alright, even with foxhole Norman." Malarky tried to reason with them, but as I walked by I could see the look on Guarnere's face that he was not convinced enough.

"Yeah, Don, were doing all right. We're doing all right now. In case you ain't noted, there' s little town down the hill over there, right? And in that town are these guys, and these guys are called 'Germans'. These Germans got tanks!" Guarnere said back to him.

"I know!" Malarky replied.

"Yeah! And our side's gonna want to go into that town. Wanna take one guess who they're gonna want to go kicking on their goddmann doors?" Guarnere kept going with his rant as I stopped near them to get a good listen in.

"I know Bill, all right? It's me you're talking to here." Malarky bit back at him.

"Jesus Christ! We gotta do all this with a CO who's got his head so far up his fucking ass, that lump in his throat is his goddamn nose!" Guarnere grumbled out, though I kept my tongue in the roof of my mouth to not say anything that would get us in trouble. It was good timing on Lipton's part to walk over and be with the boys as they greeted him.

"Hey, Muck. What's the word?" He asked Muck, who was looking rather miserable in his spot in his peacoat.

"You know, sitting around freezing our ass off, singing Dike's praises." he replied in an optimistic but forceful manner.

"Oh yeah, Lt. Dike." Lipton said in a lower tone as he sat next to Guarnere now, though it didn't sound angry, "Well, I'll tell you, I wouldn't wanna be a replacement officer, coming here. Get thrown in with a group of guys who's known each other for what, two years?" As he was saying this I walked over, watching him with a small smile on his chapped lips while he was watching all four of the guys, "Who've been in combat together since Normandy. He's supposed to just show up and lead them? How does a guy do that? How could anyone really hope to gain the respect of the toughest, most professional, most dedicated sons of bitches in the entire ECO." The other men were smirking at this point in his speech as I stood over them not saying a word.

"Huh? If you ask me, a guy would have to march to Berlin and come back with Hitler's mustache of something." Lipton ended, Guarnere chucking next to him and I smiled even bigger now as the others were grinning too from his comment, "Anyway, listen. You guys don't worry about Dike. All right?"

"Yeah," Malarky replied to him shortly.

"We all do our jobs, everything'll be fine." Lipton ended it with his sincere manner, the calm manner he would use to lift up the boys and not break them down. he hopped up finally though now he realized I was there the whole time and he smiled at me shortly before he started to walk off.

"See you, sarge!" Muck called out to him.

"Yeah boy." Lipton called back to him, though now I moved away from the four guys in the hole and over to Lipton. I haven't talked to him in awhile and I wanted to see how he was doing. Though he looked worn out from all that was happening around us, I knew he was trying to keep up his own moral for the sake of the other men.

"Quite a speech back there Lip." I said to him in my sincere manner, seeing him look over at me and have a small smile still there on his face as he was holding his rifle strap in his fingers.

"They needed to hear something that was more optimistic than depressing." Lipton confessed to me as we walked along the snow run that was made with previous soldiers and their feet.

"It was still nice none the less," I explained, having me see him eye me as if it was a joke, "I can see why the guys like you."

"And they like you too, Lt. Kit." He commented though I waved him off.

"I got nothing compared to you when it comes to something like that. I can't give any kind of speech that can lift them up." I argued though there was still a smile still on his face.

"You still lift them up, Kit. You never slow down, and you never show any kind of sign of defeat. That's what they need in a leader: strength." Lipton informed me as we both stood there in the cold. My arms were around my middle to keep myself warm, yet when he was telling me this I could feel my own warmth coming back to me because of the words of encouragement and the words of praises that he was giving me.

"Thanks, Lip." I thanked from whole heartedly. He just smiled back.

"You're welcome, Lt. Kit."

* * *

Things were moving rather fast with us within the next few days. We were still trying to stay warm, and the closer we were moving to the edge oft he forest near Foye, the more restless we were getting in our own boots. Lipton was still keeping the moral up with our boys, even with a few new replacements coming in as privates. I even got word from Lipton that Peacock was sent home on a 30-day furlough, and the rest of Easy was beyond excited to hear such a thing. It wasn't that they hated the guy.

They just wanted him gone.

Another day consisted of the men smiling in front of a camera that as brought over to us. Sink explained to Winters it was for moral for the people back at home though he had to a real reason why it was such a thing. But one thing that did come out from that day which made it brighter, was seeing none other than Joe Toye who was back from being injured in his arm. He was only gone for three days, but we missed him far too much.

"Sorry, sir."

"Sorry about what? Patton? I couldn't agree more. What are you doing here?" I watched as Winters was talking to Joe whom took off his helmet and sighed and looked already defeated with this argument.

"I wanna head back to the line, sir." he said such a simple request, yet Winters didn't look happy about it

"Joe, you don't have to do that. Get yourself back to the Aid Station. Heal up." He said in almost an order as I walked over to the both of them talking together. Joe got his sling off to have his arm free though he still looked over at Winters.

"I'd really like to head back with the fellas, sir." Joe said once more though his voice was still quiet enough to almost sound hoarse. I looked over from Joe to Winters to see his reaction, and it took him a mere moment before he nodded his head.

"All right, then go." Winters replied with reluctance. Joe smiled at him.

"Thank you, sir." He said, then looking over at me and smiling at the sight of seeing me there. I was glad to have my friend back as I shifted in my spot in the snow.

"Come on, I bet the guys are gonna be glad to see you." I said to him in a lighter manner. WE both walked together, leaving Winters behind and having me hear silence once more we walked in step.

"What makes you wanna join up with the boys?" I asked him after a second or two in silence.

"You think I wanna have you guys have all the fun while I sit on my ass. No thanks." Joe replied back in a gruff to me, having me chuckle as I could see the rest of the men in front of me in a line for food, talking to each other and having a bit of a light moment.

"Doesn't sound you to sit on your ass," I commented back, hearing him chuckle at me and I grinned, "Besides, be honest with me, you missed us too damn much."

"Nah, mostly you." Joe joked with me and I had a huge grin on my face then.

"Quite flirting with me." I wanted him though my grin was still plastered there on my face.

"Don't act like you're not impressed." Joe commented back to me. As soon as we were in eyesight, I saw Guarnere was looking over at the both of us, mostly Joe. I stopped walking at the both of them were talking to each other and getting back to good graces again, almost like they were having their own reunion. Who was I to ruin it? As they walked and talked together, I moved over to the side and made my way to the others who were eating.

"You ain't gonna eat, Kit?" Muck asked me as he was shoving the food in his plate around with his utensil.

"Not thanks, I don't feel like eating." I replied, seeing him shrug and go back to talking to the private, Webb, and explain gin to him who was shot and who was spared.

"Don't worry. There's enough crap flying around here, you're bound to get dinged sometime," He started as I grabbed a seat next to Bull who was smoking and in his own thoughts, "Almost every single one of these guys've been hit at least once. Except for Alley. He's a two timer. He landed on broken glass in Normandy and got peppered by a potato masher in Holland."

"You'll find out, son." Alley commented to the young private.

"Now, Bull, he got a piece of exploding tank in Holland. And George Luz here has evener been hit. You're one lucky Bastard." Muck said as he passed by Luz who in return rolled his eyes.

"Takes one to know now, Skip." He commented back to Muck.

"Consider us blessed. Now, Liebgott. That skinny little guy, he got pinked in the neck in Holland. And right next to him, that other skinny little guy, that's Popeye. He got shot in his scrawny little butt in Normandy." When they were mentioned, Liebgott smile and spat something out of his mouth, and Popeye just grinned.

"And Buck got shot in his rather large butt in Holland." Buck showed off his rear end as the others laughed though Muck was now pointing at me,

"Lt. Kit here has never been shot at either, but she did get the butt end of a rifle to the cheek. She killed the guy right after. She's our sniper from Wolf Company, one of the most dangerous snipers this army has ever had." Muck explained as the private was looking at me now with shock.

"Wolf Company? There are stories about you guys." He said in almost an astounding manner. I could see the rest of the men just rolling their eyes because of the sheer innocence this one had. I just grinned and shrugged my shoulders.

"We get that a lot."

* * *

**January 3rd, 1945**

I watched from my spot with Winters and Doc as I was going to meet up later with Christenson, Webb, and Perconte. We were going to be with another Company, though they haven' told me which one just yet. Winters told us that we were going to help watch the edge of the line of resistance, and as we waited to go for with the others, I had more wonder as to who we were going to work with.

"Your lucky day, Lieutenant" Winters explained to me as I turned around to see one person whom I have been dreaming about since we last saw each other, though I was never going to admit it out loud. He was standing there in front of me with his gun at the ready, though as soon as we locked eyes with on another he no longer looked determined, but also relieved to see me.

Ron.

"Kit?" He asked me, almost like he didn't recognize me within my own uniform and with the helmet on my head. I was surprised to see him too since he looked like he was growing in some stubble and having a worn look on his face because of the war. But it was him. the same war brown eyes that were always constantly there. Even now in the winter and the constant snow, his eyes were still the same and I was already feeling warm just seeing him there.

"Ron." I said back to him to in also a gasp though no one else was around to hear it in that way. Winters and Doc looked at in hesitance now because I looked like I went into shock but they said nothing and I finally tore my eyes away from Doc to see him give me a small smile. It was almost like he knew what was going on, and yet I eyed him back and Winters tapped him on the shoulder.

"Come on, Doc. Let's go check on the others." Winters said to Doc, having me being left with Ron now in the middle of the snow, though neither one of us moved since I could tell that what we really wanted to do was not allowed in front of the other men. I merely wanted a hug, but that was going to raise a few more questions with the others in Easy. So we just stood there in front of each other, having me be the first one to break the silence in the forest setting.

"So I take it we're going to work together? Easy and Dog Company?" i asked him, trying to find some kind of conversation to have with him. Ron smiled, finally, and for some reason it felt like time just stopped between us. This was ridiculous, how one smile from one guy was making me feel like I could turning liquid and mush all over again. Ron just nodded his head, walking over to me to be close enough for me to see all of his face underneath his helmet, but he then reached between us and grasped my hand in his. Within an instant, everything crappy about this war, even everything depressing about it, was no longer in my mind. All that I was worried about, at that moment, was that Ron was in front of me and I felt utterly safe.

"I'm glad you're safe, Kit." He said simply, almost sounding like he truly cared about me. Hell, he did care. In his letters to me and how we talked over coffee in England, I knew Ron cared more about me than I would give him credit for. But it was still foreign for me to hear that coming from him in such a manner like we were in a relationship and we were separated for far too long.

"Why wouldn't I be?" I asked yet it sounded more foolish when I said it that way. But the smile never left his face.

"I was just worried about you is all." He confessed, having my grin on my face grow bigger to hear him simply admit that he was worried about me. Since when as that normal for someone like Ron to be worried about someone like me. I even titled my head at him, though he stayed still and our hands were still connected, almost feeling like either one of us wanted to let go.

"Ronald Spiers was worried?" I asked in a joking manner, hearing him chuckle as if I caught him in some kind of act and he looked away from me with his teeth showing in his smile, "This is a true first. I'm just glad I caught you, so I can use this again you later."

"It sounds like you're flirting with me, Kit." Ron said back to me, having me just smile at him and show no kind of remorse there on my face. This was far different from what I was used to, all because of what happened with Gerald. Because of him, I wouldn't dare to do something like this with another man because of how much he fucked me up within my own mind and how I viewed love and infatuation. But with Ronald, he wasn't like the other men that tried to get somewhere close to me. Ron never even tried to do that with me, openly flirt with me and how open affection to me, like other men, would to those whom they liked. Ron was showing it in a different way, a subtle way that was not scary nor was it even close to being normal.

"I'm sorry if that was forward." I apologized to him, though how I worded it didn't even sound like an apology. But Ron shook his head, having me suddenly wish we were alone together so this was less awkward for other men to see.

"It wasn't. Don't apologize," He said to me, having me silently sigh in relief, "And to answer your question: yes. We are going to be working together at the moment on the line."

"Looking forward to it." I commented back to him, the atmosphere between the both of us was feeling beyond warm now since we were to friends re-united from being far apart from each other for far too long. It didn't even feel like we were at war. Once again, it felt like two people just having a chat and conversation with one another and trying to figure out where to take our relationship…if there was ever going to be one. Even Ron surprised me with the last thing he said to me:

"As am I."

* * *

Later that afternoon was going to be hell for me, or at least the start of it.

Ron and I talked for the rest of the session that we were out there on the line, swapping stories back and forth with each other and what happened since we saw each other last. He was doing fine with his own Dog Company, Beta was helping the rest of the Battalion that was on the other side of the line where we were nowhere close to. But once Ron and I had our reunion and we sent back to Easy with the couple that came with me, that's when things went south.

We were trying to cut down branches to cover our holes when we heard the call to take over. I was near Babe, the both of us hacking away with our axes and he was trying to convince me to come out and see Philadelphia once the war was over.

"No way in hell." I said to him in almost a joking manner, but he snorted as he was still using his axe to get a tree branch off.

"Oh come on! You can come see me and Wild Bill. We can show you the sights and all the crazy bars we go to. And hey, if you're willin', I can find you a great guy!" Babe was said to me in a huff as he was swinging over and over again. I chuckled as I got some of my branch done and I could see the others in Easy moving to and from the area with their branches under their arms.

"Thanks, but I'll pass with the 'finding me a guy' part of this whole plan. Maybe though you can take me out to a ball game out there." I suggested as I ripped off another stem.

"Sure thing. Hell, I know a guy at the stadium that can get us great seats for cheap. You have neva been to a game before?" Babe asked me in curiosity.

"Babe, you've known me for 2 years, going on three now and you know that my mother is a bit of a tight wad when it comes to me doin' stuff, right?" I asked him in a huff as I stood up, as in hand I saw him eye me, slowly nodding his head.

"You've told me that, yeah." he replied.

"So when was it a bright idea to ask me that when you know the answer is gonna be no?" I asked with a small grin on my face from the sheer thought of his conversation. Babe snorted in laughter from hearing this, but it was suddenly cut short within a moment. It was peaceful at first, but when we were getting our own branches was when things were suddenly loud and deadly. We covered our heads when Lipton suddenly yelled;

"Incoming!"

Babe and I bolted up to see what was going on, but we suddenly knew that we were being bombed. Lipton was running through the area to worn us as I felt Babe grab my sleeve and pull me with him, his rifle in his other hand.

"Come on, we gotta find a foxhole!" he said over the explosions around us. Dirt was flying everywhere and I felt my own ears ringing from almost going deaf from how loud it was. Babe and I wasps running, and the earth under out boots was shaking and making us almost loose our grip once or twice. There was not one in sight, which was not great for us since if we didn't find cover soon we were going to be dead.

"Over here, come on, Kit!" Babe said to me as we both bolted over together to find a rather large one that was deep enough to house 4 guys, but we were just two. I was running in front of him since he slipped, but once I was in the hole, I whirled around and grabbed for his rifle that was still in his hand.

"Babe!" I screamed as a tree behind us suddenly exploded and was tilting over to land on us. I pulled him towards me though Babe wasn't as big as Bull or Buck, I grunted as he slid on the dirt and snow and slid into the foxhole. We both fell from the impact and the tree landed right over us in a shattered boom. It was suddenly dark, the pine needles we cascading over us like a soft shower of rain.

The explosions were still going off around us, we could feel it in the foxhole as I desperately tried to find Babe in the dark in case he was hurt or dead.

"B-Babe!" I said to him over the loud thundering bombs, having me feel him lace our fingers together and chock out a sigh of relief. He didn't sound dead, nor did he sound hurt in the way he was breathing.

"You okay Kit?" He asked me in a shutter. It was too dark for me to see his face there between us.

"I'm good, you?" I asked him back.

"Ask me in five minutes." He said in a huff and almost like he was in a panicked mode. We were still in stunned silence from all of the bombing that was happening around us. But once I looked up to see what was up top of use, I gasped in defeat.

We were stuck underneath a tree.

"Shit." I said in a panicked manner, reached put to feel how big it was. We had no way of lifting it just the both of us together. compared to the other men, we both were scrawny and hardly had any muscles behind us for something like this, "Babe, Babe we're stuck."

"Hold on." Babe said tent to me, having me feel his shoulder against my own as he too tried to push t he tree, but nothing was budging.

"Damnit!" he said in distress as the bombing now stopped. We both stayed still then, sharing nothing inside and outside. There was no movement, no noise and no one talking. This was bad, and it was started to make me panic since it felt like I was about to hyperventilate there in the hole with Babe.

"Stay in your foxhole!" Lipton ordered us as we both tried to reach our hands through gapping branches to feel the cool air against our fingers that were now caked with dirt and grime. I need to get out of there before I knew I was going to suffocate in there. This was not the way I wanted to die.

"Help! Somebody help us!" Babe screamed next to me, having me see some sliver of the gray light in front of us as we waited for someone to come our way.

"Anyone there?! Help!" Babe screamed since I couldn't find my voice to say anything at that moment. Thank God for him, but we then heard a couple soldier running over to our direction.

"Hang on! Who's in that!" Lipton called out to us and we were still in a bit of a panic over what happened.

"Heff! Babe and Kit! Get us out of here!" He said back to Lipton as we could hear then trying to get some of the branches and trunk out of the way for us. I was still silent the whole time though I felt like I was shaking like a leaf there and having a herd time breathing from all that was happening.

"Hang on you two. Kit, you okay!" Lipton asked me in his loud tone as they were shifting some of the branches around already and having me hear them grunt with the power they were using.

"I'm okay." I said, finally. They pulled away most of he branches just in time, getting their hands in and pulling the both of us out of there and having me see the gray light again. I was hoisted up by Lipton, who had me land on my feet and I saw him look me over in worry.

"You good?" He asked me, having me nod my head in silence since I was still shaken up by what I saw and what I felt. But he then look behind the both of us and up in the air, having me see what he was seeing and then sighing in defeat.

Not again.

"Incoming!" He screaming, all of us scattering and running for another place to go and hide. I was off before I knew what was going on. I was not going to have another panic attack on my hands as bomb were scattering all over again. There had to be a cover somewhere in this forest now that another attack was on us.

I found another foxhole that was abandoned, having me shoot into that one and cover my head with my arms to make sure that I wasn't going to get anywhere near hurt. But then I was no longer alone since I looked over to see Joe Liebgott hunched in the same foxhole as me and trying hard not to get hit himself. We were still being bombarded left and right with the noise louder than ever. We waited there, having me looked up once or twice to see the fallen timber of trees around us like they were paper flying in the wind, as if they were nothing. Any one of these trees could kill us, but we were still there and we were still breathing.

Another minute of bombing went off and it was once again silent, having me freeze in the hole with Joe and we looked up and around to see what was going on. Everything was once again still, though I was reluctant to move this time in case we were going to be hit for a third time.

"Anything?" Joe asked me from his spot next to me. I scanned the area, thinking that I was going to see something. I quickly grabbed my scope from my pocket and placed sit near the eye, looking left and right. I saw nothing, but then again this already killed me once before when we lost Julian. I didn't want to take another chance.

"Nothing." I said back to him, getting the scope away from my eye and then looking over at him. He didn't look hurt himself, but then again we were hunched in the foxhole there and almost wrapping ourselves in balls.

"You good?" I asked him in a shaky manner, seeing him nod his own head and we both carefully got up from foxhole we were in. Others were getting up too, but we stayed close together in case something was going to happen. It was still silent, which could be a good thing or a bad thing for us since we could once again he hit at any moment. However, I heard someone crying out in pain and I panicked, looking in that direction to hear what to was, or who it was.

"Joe Toye." Joe said next to me, having me bolt into a run and hearing him come after me before he could even stop me. That was not a good scream, something was very wrong with him now and I wonder what it was.

"Kit!" Joe called behind me as I found Joe Toye there, on the ground, covered in blood on his leg. But there was no leg, he was legless. This was bad since he could die at any moment there and I wanted to help him. I started to panic when I heard someone else next to me on the floor. Looking over and down next to my foot.

Guarnere. He too was amputated.

"I'm here, Toye." I shot a look over at Toye as Doc was there suddenly out of nowhere, tending to his leg. He was going to be fine with Doc there, but I focused now on Wild Bill and how he was sitting up with his own damaged limb of a leg. I shot down to his level, seeing him eye me with a gun on his lips and pain in his eyes.

"Here. I got you Bill." I said to him in a shaky manner as I got to his level and placed an arm over his shoulders to feel him lean against me, still trying to breathe though he was in pain, This was a whole new kind of shell shock for me, since I was trying to be a strong soldier while two of my friends lost their legs in a bombing and within minutes. It made me wonder, truly wonder while I stayed with Wild Bill before he was hoisted away from me.

What was this going to end?

* * *

**January 9th, 1945**

It was another cold night there in the forest, and since we lost two of our men, we were just trying to get through another night before we made out a big move out in Foye. That might be especially hard for the officers since we were still trying to clear the forest and get one step closer to getting out of the forest. They weren't going to tell me anything really, since I was more prone to just keeping the boys alive in their pirates like Lipton was going. But this was was another round of hell for us.

Since once again, it came out of nowhere.

"You need a light, Kit?" LIebgott asked me as he was walking over to me with his hands shoved in his peacoat pockets and his cigarette poking out of his lips. Since the loss of both Wild Bill and Toye, we were shaken up a bit and I had to wonder if we were going to get any kind of peace there in that forest. I nodded my head, seeing him fish out his pack and then his lighter. Once I got my cigarette lit and I inhaled, we stood side by side with nothing say for a mere minute but trying to just breathe.

"You heard from Guarnere?" Joe asked me casually.

"He's on the next ship back home, along with Toye," I informed him as I saw him nod his head, "Both lost their leg from the shelling."

"Fuck," Joe muttered out as he inhaled and the smoke exited through his nose, "I never though it would be those two going out like that."

"Hell, who did?" I asked him with a shrug of my shoulders. He said nothing for a solid few seconds, having me look over to see Lipton talking to Luz about something under their breaths.

"You haven't talked in days since it happened." Joe said to me, more like a statement then anything really. I eyed him then, seeing him breathing out one more time before he eyed me with the look of disbelief there on his face. He was some kind of yo-yo friend to me, having good days and being a great friend, and days where he wanted to chew me out. I had no idea what his problem was with me, but at this point I wanted nothing more than to shut him up.

"Sorry, if I'm not in the talking mood as of late, Liebgott." I said to him in a lower manner since there was not one ounce of happiness that was left in me because of all that happened within the past few weeks.

"You were the other day when you were talkin' with Spiers," I shot him a look then, not understanding where he was coming from and how he was now bringing up Ron in a time like this, "And you looked rather peachy to see him."

"And this bothers you, why?" I asked him carefully.

"It doesn't. Though it raises some questions around here and how the other guys are gonna see you." Joe replied smoothly though I flicked the rest of the stick out of my hand and now really wishing that I could just punch him hard in the jaw and shut him up. Not only did I not need his attitude, but now I didn't need to hear that he was thinking that I was fooling around with another soldier.

"Whatever you think is going on, get it out of your head." I said to him though I didn't move my head in the process.

"Is that a threat?" He asked me casually though he too was staying still in his spot. I was about to answer him when we had yet another round of shelling happening around us. We both dived out of the way and into a cover of a foxhole, me being alone this time and not having someone to hide with. Since it was now in the night, we were seeing flashes of light from the explosions around us. We should not be used to this by now, but we were still running around in a frantic state.

But that too was short lived, because I saw in front of me a shell going off right over Muck and Penkala. Within an instant, they were gone.

And no one was around to hear me scream.


	26. Chapter 26

"Kit! Something's up, Kit." I looked over to see Lipton walking over to me, having me see him in his own shivering peacoat and rifle at the ready. We were on the edge of the forest, about to go out into Foye and finish this God forsaken battle and build up that already cost us three men and two of our friend's legs.

With what happened to Muck and Penkala, Malarky was having the worst time with the coping of his best friend's death. He was close to the both of them, though now they were gone. Lipton even suggested him going off with Winters and being his runner, to get away from the line for a couple of days. Malarky declined, since he was once again trying to tough out the days there though his heart was breaking. It made me hate the Germans even more for what they did to Malarky, and how they damaged Joe Toye and Guarnere.

I was over and done with this town, wanting to burn it to the ground because of the Germans that were in there. Dike was our commander, much to our dismay, as Winters was going to stay behind in the forest with D Company and what for anything that could go wrong.

With Dike, we were going to be in big trouble.

Winters and Colonel Sink were there to look over the battle, but Lipton was next to me now as I stood on up of the snow, rifle in hand and with my black combat attire on. I was waiting for the signal to head out and protect the boys from any upcoming assault, and from what Lipton was seeing when he would observe, we were in for a fight with this group of Germans.

"What is it, Lip?" I asked him as he handed me the envelope and I opened it with my fingerless gloved hands. I read through the letter, seeing that it was another telegram from Jacobs and I grinned from seeing the familiar typing there and how he was wording it:

_Lieutenant Kit. Stop._

_Relief is on it's way. Stop._

_Wolf Company is coming. Stop._

_Take out the town of Foye. Stop_

_Jacobs._

"All be damned." I gasped out as I looked up at him, seeing him watch me and wonder what was going on in my head.

"What is it?" He asked, but the sound of a jeep coming up from behind us made us all look, even the other men who were wondering what was going on. But a huge smile was on my lips, since this meant that I was going to once again be working with my Wolf Company members. And there they were, rolling up in a jeep to our direction.

Spade, Beta, Artemis, Viper, Nova in the Driver seat, Ace and even Jade was there. They were all in their Wolf Company attire, sliming and tight with their weapons of choice attached and their look of determination on their faces. He was sending me Wolf Company to help relief the men of Easy and to fight off Foye. The men of Easy and D were floored with what they saw, yet they didn't move as Nova parked the jeep at the middle of the cluster of men, all of the girl hoping out and not making eye contact with the others while Lipton and I walked over to greet them. When they saw me, they all grinned from ear to ear with their combat weapons at the ready and I smiled back. It was good to see the girls again and it felt like months instead of weeks since I saw him last.

"Kit, you look like you've seen better days." Spade commented to me as she analyzed the area with her hands on his pistols that were on her hips, "But from what Captain Jacobs has been telling us, you guys aren't doing so well."

"So you come to rescue us?" I asked her back with a cock of my eyebrow. She shook her head.

"Not rescue, but help. He figures you guys need a good team of assassin to take out this particular town. We're willing to help out." Spade explained to me, though I now looked over at Lipton who was still in shock from what he was seeing. He particularly hasn't seen the whole group assembled together, it was rare really.

"Lipton, meet Wolf Company." I said to him, the girls grinning at him and giving him short waves of their fingers as he just smiled at him. I could tell there was relief on his face to see someone or a group of soldiers there to help with their attack.

"Good to meet your guys, finally." He said to them all in relief.

"We're here to in any way we can," Artemis explained to him as she stood next to Beta who smiled in agreement, "What can we do?"

"Plenty." I answered for him, seeing him eye me now as I watched him with the determination in my eyes, "We can take care of any stragglers out there that could be a problem. You guys take care of the big guns, we can handle the rest."

"Agreed." Lipton said to me, then walking away to talk to Dike and the others. I watched him, seeing a new pep in his step since he got a handful of assassins on his side to help him in his battle. I grinned, feeling the light back on his face.

"What's the plan, Kit?" Nova asked as I looked back at my friends, having me walk over to them all now as we were in a circle. Though we were still together shoulder to shoulder in the circle, some of the men were trying to listen in and see what we were going to do. This was when we were going to have to go stealth on them: Sign language. Only a couple of the guys knew how to sign thanks to myself and Beta, but we were beyond a couple of years in experience.

_We need to aid the men with the snipers and the control over the Germans in there._ I explained with my fingers.

_How many are we talking about in the town? _ Viper asked me.

_Enough to bring heavy damage if we're not careful. They have tanks, mortars, the works. _I replied back to her.

_How are we going to get in there?_ Beta asked us all with worry on her face. I knew this was going to be a team effect for us, not just me running the show. This wasn't like Bastogne where they were going to look for me as a leader, this was all of us now.

_We use the jeep, when they cleared it enough for us tog et though without being bombarded. _ Ace explained to us, all of us nodding in agreement to show we liked the plan so far.

_How much weapons are we going to use?_ Spade asked with her finger flying, but I cut her off before someone was going to answer.

_All of what we have. _ I replied back, seeing them all watch me now as I was looking for intense in my spot with them around us. This was going to end today, with the battle that was ahead of us. The previous times I went into battle only consisted of me just helping the men in Easy and doing my end of the deal. But now, with three Easy men dead and two others damaged and fractured. This was going to be my own breaking point in the matter of ending this. Once and for all.

_We end this today. Understand?_ I asked them all, seeing them nod and sign _Yes_ in return to me. I wasn't going to let another Easy Company member get hurt, not while I was about to fight back and show Easy how much they mean to me this far along in the war.

This was going to end today.

* * *

I waited with the girls in the jeep, the engine was off to not give ourselves away as the first wave of Easy members, lead by Dike and with Lipton right behind him. We were going to wait to have some kind of opening for us to get through, with the rest of D Company waiting next to us along the edge and somewhat in the open. The large open field was going to be the toughest since they had little cover to go and die incase they were going to be shot at. Winters was with us then, waiting as well. I hated waiting like this, knowing that Lipton, Luz, and others were already out there firing away and trying to remain alive.

Sink talked to Wolf Company before we went to our position, letting us know that he was grateful that we came in their time of need and was going to give them aid. We could see he was grateful, since the last time we all saw him with us all together was back in America, and I wondered if he was in shock from seeing all of the Wolf Company members still alive this far into the war. He agreed to let us help but to only going in with they needed it, which was fine by us.

So we waited.

Someone was walking over to my left, having me look over and tear my eyes away from the battle in front of us. It was Ron, and he was in his own combat gear and helmet on his head. I hopped off of the jeep and walked over to him since he was making a beeline over to me. The girls didn't notice, they were too focused on the battle as Ron and I approached each other.

"What's the plan for Wolf Company?" Ron asked, though I could see in his eyes that he looked rather scared about the situation with me there, or at least that's what I was interpreting.

"We go in at the right opportunity and aid in the assault." I explained to him calmly, though he didn't look too pleased about that.

"What are you talking about? You're just going go in there and take out whoever is left?" He asked, not convened.

"Yes, as a matter of fact. Ron, we can handle this." I replied back to him, seeing him still look a bit off about it. Since we met up here in the cold, there was somehow a kind of shift within out own relationship between us. Something with him was making him look at me a bit longer than he should, though I was doing the same. He was suddenly caring about my safety now, not that he wasn't before. But this was different, now I could tell he was not wanting me to do anything too stupid or too out of my control. It was showing, and this could get messy within seconds if we weren't careful.

"Ron, are you suggesting that I stay out of the battle and not do anything?" I asked him carefully, since the last thing I wanted to do was lecture him the concept of letting me be able to fight and take care of myself.

"I'm asking you, as a friend, to really reconsider what you're about to do." He said to me in almost a pleading tone, yet that sentence was almost like a dropped bomb. It said the word 'friend', but to me that was meaning something else. Did he only see me as a friend? Why was this making me feel like utter shit now, the feeling of rejection? Should be hurting this bad to hear it from him? What in the hell was wrong with me? I didn't know if it was the battle that was in front of us that was making me more emotional, or the fact that I saw two friends loose their legs and another two die without me protecting them. But I was more fragile than I was before, and for him to only see me as a friend was now striking a bad cord with me.

"As a friend?" I repeated, but harshly, but almost like a whisper to make sure I had it right.

"Yes." he replied, having me suddenly wish I was not anywhere near him since him using that word was like placing the last nail in my coffin. We were only friends, and though it wouldn't pain me if it was any other way, it was with him.

"Kit! Get back here!" I moved away from Ron without saying another word, not wanting to be anywhere near him at the moment because I wanted to cry. Why did I want to cry when all he said what that eh considered me a friend? It made me think of the dreams that I had of both Ron and I, were they in vain? It seemed like it at this point when I made my way back to the girls in Wolf. I wasn't going to show any tears, not in front of them since we had a job to do.

"What is it?" I asked Spade and Artemis as they were looking through their binoculars to check out the battle.

"Not good." Artemis said to me, having me shook at look at her and then looking out to see what she was seeing. Shit, they were stuck along the opening and having no way of getting into the town. There was on much artillery fire going on, and we weren't moving an inch. What was going to happen now?

"Shit." I said as I then heard Winters now yelling out to Dike in vain to get them to move. I wanted him to move the boys too since if they wren't going to be leaving within minutes, they were all going to be dead. And it was all going to be because of Dike. Damn him.

"We have to do something." Nova said from the drivers seat, her hands on her steering wheel and they were gripping he wheel in a death grip.

"We can't move until we're told to, Nova." I reminded her though my teeth, trying to keep my own composure with the girls there. Winters was about to run out there but he was stopped by Col. Sink.

"Goddamn it! You do not go out there! You're the battalion commander! Now, get back here!" He yelled at Winters who was about to sprint out there and do the business himself, "No, Dick, I understand your attachment to Easy Company—"

"Spiers! Get yourself over here!" Winters commanded Ron as he jogged over to Winters how with his rifle at the ready. I only watched, not moving from my spot as Ron approached him.

"Get our there and relief Dick and that attack on in." He instructed Ron, whom ran off without a second glance. I watched with a bit of hesitance as he made his way out onto the field there, running for dear life over to Dike whom was propped up against a big hay pile and looking shell shocked. I honestly wished that I told him to be careful, that he would be okay and fine from all of this, but I didn't tell him. Now I was mentally kicking myself for not saying it at the right moment and seeing him almost go to his death.

"Kit." Winters called me now, having all of us look over at him now from our spot at the jeep. He still looked heated from what was going on, feeling bad since he couldn't go out there himself and help with the fighting. But once we locked eyes, I knew he meant business.

"When you find the opportunity, take it and go in there." He commanded me, having me nod once. He knew this was going to be more trouble than we bargained for, and he was willing to send us in there to help with the men and get this battle done and over with. We were going to be there within seconds, and I shot a look back over to Nova who was still in the driver's seat.

"Get ready." I said to her, seeing her smirk at me and then start up the jeep. I looked back out not the field to see the proper opportunity to head out there. Dike was still out of it, but now Lipton and Ron were talking and they were now moving again to the town and getting ready to invade it. I grinned, walking over to hop onto the back of the jeep where Beta was with her pistol and Armies with her bow and arrow that was loaded and ready. We were about to head out and into the town, guns blazing and not looking back.

"Wait for the mortar to go off." Ace advised me as she was watching the scene. We were watching too, since that would be the best opportunity to go out there. If they had the mortars going, we would sneak in and not be seen. We just had to wait at that moment as I got out the two pistols that Spade gave me as a present when we met up that day, standing in the middle between Artemis and Beta. I knew we had mortars on our end that were going to be launched over to one of the buildings, and it was when we saw the large gray smoke rising from the last mortar hitting the building was when we had the green light.

"Now!" Nova stepped on the petal, we all were riding into the open area and towards the town. Nova was driving, Ace in the middle and Spade in the passenger seat. Beta, myself and Artemis in the back row on our feet with our weapons loaded, which left Viper right behind me with her knives ready to go. and Jade was hanging off the side with her hand on the back bar where we were and her shotgun in her hand. We weren't going to go into this lightly, and we all knew that.

"Take us to the square, I'll give them a taste of explosives." I looked over at Ace, seeing him fish out a couple of explosives that she made for the battle itself. They looked harmless, but we knew better with her since she knew a thing or two on how to make things pop and explode with the most damage imaginable. Hell, she almost blew up Captain Jacob's car when we were in the early times of training.

"Hang tight, Wolf pack!" Nova yelled over the noise as we were now dodged the flying mortars that were coming our way. But the way Nova was driving gave us reassurance that she was not going to get us killed. She knew how to drive anything in front of her, as little as a motorcycle to as big as a combat jeep. We passed the men in Easy that were running into the town as one mortar from our side took out a farmhouse that was close by us. Once we passed the border, Nova drove us into the square where we started to open fire on the Germans that saw us coming.

We were a force of reckoning.

I took out at least three, Spade was shooting left and right with her two guns, and Artemis got down couple with her bow. As soon as Nova slowed down, Artemis, Beta and I jumped out of the jeep, but still firing at the Germans that were coming over to us now. Easy members were joining us in the assault as a couple of the men were trying to get us when they were close enough. I snagged one from hitting me with his gun, knocking him out with my rifle and then seeing that Wolf Company once again scattered around the square on their own with Nova driving away.

"Over here!" I whirled around me in time to see a German about to shoot me when I ducked out of the way, grabbing my knife from my pocket and throwing at him to see him fall over. I could hear a tank coming my way, having me run over for cover behind a small brick fence to make sure that I wasn't going to be seen. it was safe enough for me, so I grabbed my trusty scope and peered through it to see all that was happening around us.

Beta was fending herself against one soldier who was trying to knock her out, but it was nothing to her really. Spade was also behind her own small brick wall and her pistols were taking care of her. Artemis and Viper were paired together to the west along a building, and Ace and Jade were to the East. So far, we were doing okay. Now I just had to find the others in Easy and make sure they were still alive.

I could see Lipton and Ron talking together behind one of the buildings, maybe making a plan with one another. I watched carefully to make sure no one was going to see them, and Lipton was pointing to an area on the other side of the town. It have be where I Company was supposed to see since we haven't seen them yet. However, the next thing that I saw took my breath away.

Ron running in broad daylight.

No one was shooting at him, not at first. He was far too fast for anyone, both American and German, to figure out who he was and to respond to it. It was like he was running from Hell, and he was going at a manner that was both determined and insane at the same time. At this point I didn't care if we were just friends anymore.

I wanted to protect him.

Pulling our my rifle, I kept an eye out for anyone that was going to hit him as he launched himself over a brick wall and was gone fora few seconds. I looked up to see if he was alright, a smart amount of panic was running through me at that point and I hoped it was. I hated being this emotional in the middle of a battle, but it was so hard not to be since I was still having feelings towards him. He then popped his head out from behind the fence, crawling over it and running back to the men that we was once with. I was scare now for him, since the Germasn now knew what he looked like and were trying to shoot him.

They weren't going to touch him,

I took out one as Ron passed him by, cocking my gun and shooting at another one who was trying to get the tanks over to him and get him. He was still fast enough for them not to touch him or get anywhere close to touching him. I was cocking my gun one last time when I saw something that was about to make me sweat: a soldier with a grenade. He pulled the pin and was throwing it right at Ron.

"RON!" I bellowed, seeing him look over in my direction, "GRENADE!" He instantly ducked out of the way and over to the right, just in time for the grenade to go off behind him without hitting him. If I wouldn't have yelled out within seconds, he would have been injured if not dead. He was safe back on our line, and he looked back at me when I was up from behind my spot near the brick wall.

Locking eyes with him made everything else around me seem meaningless. Because how he was looking at me, was like he was looking right at a ghost. I wondered then if he was scared for me, if he ever wondered if I was hurt or dead. I saw my home in his eyes, though he was far away enough for me not to seem those brown eyes clearly. But his eyes went from warm to dark, since now he was giving me a look of panic.

"KIT!" He screamed in such a shared freight. Someone was running up behind me, having me look in time to see a German Soldier slam his rifle into my face, almost breaking my nose and having me fall to the floor in a yelp. My face was in so much pain as I looked up to see him cock his own rifle and aim down right at me. Instantly I kicked his kneecap, hearing it pop and him scream in agony as I reached over to grab one of the broken bricks and throwing it at his face to get his eye sight off. He stumbled back with his busted knee as I got up, grabbing my rifle that was knocked off of my hand.

Slowly i got up as the German was trying to find his eyesight again. Rearing my gun back, I shot at him once and I saw him fall to the floor. It was all within seconds, and I could taste blood on my lip and my lower jaw swelling in pain. The battle was once again slowly dying out in our favor, having me look to see where everyone was. The gunfire was dying down, and nothing was really harming us anymore. Ron was sprinting over to me now as I was clutching my jaw because of the mass pain I was feeling.

"You okay?" He asked me in a panic as I eyed him now. He looked like he was on the verge of tears from seeing me almost get killed and letting my guard down for two minutes. I was about to answer him when he touched my jawline, almost cradling my face within his fingers and having me loose my breathe finally from being this close to him. He was analyzing my face with precision, almost like he was holding one of his guns. I only wanted to be so still since I felt like if I moved I would ruin this moment that we were having between us.

"Doesn't look too bad at all." He replied to me now in almost a murmur now since we were close enough together. I just kept still, though I wanted to say something else to him. He just looked right my eyes now, no longer at my wound on my jaw and black eye and then smiled at me. I hated that smile, but loved it at the same time, "Come on, let's take you over to Doc."

"Okay." I said in a low tone, still out of breathe from both the assault that just happened on my face and Ron being this close to me. He then walked the both of us over to the main part of the area now. I could see the others in Easy and I Company walking around and relived that we won the battle. Even though my face was hurting like hell, I was glad it was all over now. Some of the men were singing on top of one of the German takes that we took down. It seemed so pleasant in the moment, but as I was walking I saw Beta was walking over to us as well, a bit roughed up from the fight but none the less okay. I smiled from seeing her, but it was once again wiped away from me.

She was shot in the chest, having me see her gasp out and fall to her knees.

"BETA!" I screamed in agony. Ron grabbed me before I could run over there to get to her. Another shot was rung out, an Easy member on one of the tanks was shot while Ron shoved the both of us behind another tank that was abandoned. I was trying to get myself out of his ams to get to Beta, but he was much stronger than me and I had nothing on him.

"Beta!" I kept yelling her name over and over to see if she was alive, but Ron was not letting me go anytime soon and someone was yelling for anyone to shoot the sniper and get him out. She was still out there and she might still be alive. I heard one more shot from someone, and we all stopped again in our spots. I was still trying to move out of his grasp. I finally got out of it, slipping away from Ron before he could grab me again as I shot up and moved over back into the open. What I saw in front of me made me freeze up and have tears in my eyes. This was the straw on the camel's back, since before me on the floor, was Beta's body.

She was dead.

Artemis was already over at her, kneeling next to her body and already weeping from what was in front of her. Beta's eyes were closed, and she looked far too peaceful there on the ground with a bullet in her chest. I walked over there slowly, not being able to say a word or two because of the sheer sadness that was pouring over me. The rest of the girls were coming over too from their cover, seeing Beta and crying from what was happening. We lost one of our own.

"Kit…" Ron said behind me as I approached her body. Artemis looked up at me, her bright eyes were crystalizing from the tears that were all over her eyes and face. Ace was to the point of sobbing, whereas Viper was silent with her tears and Spade was clutching Viper's hand to not scream out. I fell to my knees as well in front of Beta and I could everything wavering over me now. All of the pain, the screaming and the agony that I was trying to bottle up inside was no longer going to stay in anymore. Hesitantly, I reached out as more tears were pouring down my face then. As I touched her hair that was so still against the dirt and graveled floor, I suddenly lost it.

I screamed her name into the void.

* * *

Everything else that day was hazy, almost like a dream to me as I was ushered away from Beta's body, along with the rest of the girls and we were shipped over to the chapel. We were going to stay there for the night to get some rest and some warmth back within ourselves, but how were we supposed to feel better when one of my best friends was gone? I was stripped away from her before they could take her, Bull having to lead me away from her as they were going to take care of her. The others in Wolf Company were just as stern to leave her as I was, though we reluctantly watched as she was taken from us.

I was now sitting against the wall in the chapel with the rest of the girls, not saying anything and not moving an inch. My head was still throbbing from the attack that I went through, and now my eye was black and blue. The rest of Easy Company was sitting in the pews as a local choir was singing to us, tough we had no heart to smile. Our hearts were shattered, torn and ripped apart at the seams and we had no way of fixing it. I was sitting close to Artemis, whom had her head resting on my shoulder and was still weeping silently into my jacket as we were sitting there in the back of the chapel.

I looked over Artemis's head and watched as I saw Lipton and Ron talk to each other in low tones, Ron looking like he was going to pack and get ready to move out somewhere. Lipton, on the other hand looked so worn out from the fight that he might collapse from sheer exhaustion. The rest of the men were just sitting and looking off in a dazed manner. I only wondered if they were suffering like I was.

"Does Jacobs know?" I asked in almost a croak to the group of girls that were still sitting close to me. I looked over to Ace whom nodded her head slowly as she was looking down at her fingers now that were in her lap.

"We go tomorrow to tell him." Ace explained to me roughly though her lips as we were then approached by both Lipton and Ron. We all looked up, but we didn't move from our spots on the ground, nor did we get up to salute them. I only stared at them both, drained from my tears and screams that were heard in the square. Lipton looked sincerely sad from what happened, and Ron looked right at me the whole time when Lipton spoke up.

"I'm sorry to hear what happened to Beta," He said to all of us, his hands folded in front of himself as he looked at each of us like he too was personally hurt from the loss. I knew he was, and that he meant well, but it still wasn't enough. I didn't even have the heart to smile at him now, it was too much work to do such a thing. The look I was getting from Ron was hard to read from where I was sitting, but it did look like he was beyond concerned for me.

"Kit, may I have a word with you in private, please?" Ron asked me in a low manner, though it was gentle. I eyed him, not wondering why he wanted to talk to me alone since all I wanted to do was just forget that whole day and pray that Beta would come back. Artemis eyed me as well as the rest of the girls, having me slowly get up from my spot and feel the ache all over my body as I was back on m feet again. The rest of the girls stayed on the floor as I eyed both Lipton and Ron with no smile back on my face. Ron walked over to the lobby of the church where it was a separate room in the church. But before I even took a long step there, I looked back at Lipton who was watching me carefully.

"Emma." I said aloud to him in almost a broken tone, seeing him eye me now as he was confused as ever.

"What?" He asked, not getting where I was going. I took in a shaky breathe, almost having another wave of tears come over me when I spoke up again.

"Her name…..was Emma. Emma Heifetz." I explained to him calmly, though my voice was cracking from just speaking her name. Lipton cringed a bit from me saying this, though I turned my head and walked over to Ron, seeing the other girls cringe as well as I walked past them. We were all still in heavy mourning over our lost member of Wolf Company, and there was no way I was going to make it out alive and be sane again.

Ron and I were alone in the lobby of the church now, hearing the faint choir in the main sanctuary once Ron closed the doors behind us. I was still standing there, not moving an inch as he finally looked over at me with the same look of defeat on his face and how his own body language towards me was not threatening.

"Kit, from all that happened today…I want to make sure that you're okay." Ron said to be carefully, but I wasn't wanting to look at him anymore since I was still in too much pain to even say a complete sentence.

"How does it look, Ron?" I asked him in almost a croak now, seeing him eye me now. I looked so battered in front of him: swelled jail, black eye and scabs all over me from the fight. Not to mention covered in dirt and sweat from running around.

"You look like you're okay." He replied back to me, trying to make me feel better. I scoffed, not even wanting to start this with him.

"Okay," I repeated almost in disbelief, "Ron I just witness my best friend die in front of me and there was not one damn thing that I could do. Not to mention be seeing two of my others friend loose their legs and three others die because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"Understandable." Ron said to me carefully though I was just about to blow up at him.

"How is it understandable?" I asked through gritted teeth, my hands clenching and unclenching at my sides so that I wouldn't hit anything at all, "I'm about to loose it, Ron. I was supposed to protect them, make sure that they lived!"

"Kit…" He tried to start reasoning with me, but I wasn't going to listen anymore.

"I was meant to be the one who was going protect them, as their sniper! How am I supposed to do that now when I lost three friends, one of them whom I consider a sister, and two others get hurt?!" At this point, I felt like I was shaking in my own boots and wanting to scream into the oblivion. More tears were soaking my shirt now as I was gasping for air, in which Ron finally walked over within two strides and wrapped me in his arms. As soon as we made contact, I was weeping in his arms and he just held me.

Everything that I was holding inside was coming out of me like a bruise that was throbbing over and over again. But I needed it to be out of my body and away from me so I can no longer be plagued. Ron only held me, not saying a word or two for minutes as I was just standing there in his arms and crying for all that the pain I was forced to bottle up inside. I would think Ron would be freaked out by this, but he showed none of that. He was trying to comfort me in his own fashion, though I doubt he would do this with a lot of the men and women he knew in his life.

"You're okay, Kit." He whispered into my hair, almost making me loose focus because of how soothing it sounded for him to whisper that to me. I stopped my crying at that point, no longer having the water left in my own body to produce anymore but feel somehow, a warmth of peace over me that was calming because of him

"I don't feel okay." I mumbled into his jacket, though his arms were still around to hold me like he was going to protect me.

"You will be okay. I'll help you be okay." He explained to me again in a soft whisper. I finally looked up at him now, though I was still trapped in his embrace and not wanting to move since we were close enough to breathe each other in. He only looked at me and I saw the warmth there again in his brown eyes, and they almost gave me a hint go green there because of the candle light in the lobby.

"How are you going to do that?" I asked him, not getting what he was going to do to me. He just smiled at me, and I felt everything go numb in my body as he leaned down and pressed his lips against my own.

We were kissing in a church.

I could have sworn that my heart was now beating so fast that I could die then and there, but then there was warm there in me, no longer sadness or pain and coldness that I had mere minutes before I saw him. HIs lips touching my lips, how he was pressing me gently against him, he made me forget what did happen to me with Gerald. I was afraid that this was going to be another flashback for me, but then this was completely the opposite of what I thought it was. This was….pleasant and calming and exciting and surreal all at the same time. This is what my first kiss should have felt like with Gerald.

After holding it for far too long, I slowly kissed him back and grasped his arms within my hands. He held the kiss then, not moving either one of us before he reluctantly pulled away from me to look at me now with the same war glow about him. I was seeing him in a new light, no longer in confusion or in wonder, but now in warmth and in peace. I did feel something shift between us, but then again I didn't mind it at all.

"By doing that." He replied to me in almost a breathless manner, having me feel a bit content now with what was going on. I was still in pain, I was still in mourning and almost on the verge of a breakdown. But I had someone who was not going to leave me to die.

Ron was trying to save me after all.


	27. Chapter 27

**February 5th, 1945**

**Hagunau, France**

I opened up eyes once again to the sound of the boots coming up the stairs in my dusty room. I sighed, thinking that I once again had another nightmare of Beta being shot in front of me and me having me see her breathe out her last breath. It was a sour dream.

Sour and deadly.

We were in France now, early February after we took a few more towns near Belgium including the browns of Rachamps and Noville. Now we were back in France again, but this time in a small ruined town called Hangunau and the coldness was still there. Hell, the coldness gave Lipton Pneumonia and now he was on bed rest. This was not where I wanted to be. But then again I didn't want to be back at home.

I didn't know where I wanted to be.

After we left the town of Foye, the rest of the girls went back to London to report to Captain Jacobs on Beta's death. It was devastating for us to leave each other since we lost our own fallen comrade and they didn't want to leave me behind. However, I still had obligations to Easy Company, and with the approval of Winters, I stayed on with the men as he was the head of the Battalion, and Ron was the now CO of Easy.

Our new Captain.

The only small silver lining to this whole thing was the kiss I shared with Ron earlier in the church. Hell, it was the small amount of warmth that was flooding over me within minutes, ever after we kissed I felt only a bit better. Not all the way, but just a bit. I had to wonder if there was something else that was going to happen between us, and if there was, it was going to take plenty amount of sneaking around in order to make this work. But that was already a pipe dream in itself. He probably kissed me to make me feel better at the moment, such a sly move on him to do. But on the other hand I questioned if he meant it, the kiss and all? Was it some kind of play? Or was it genuine?

There was a small knock at my door, having me blink twice before craning my head over my pillow on the bed to see a head popping. I didn't move though it was good to see my best friend there poking his head in from over the door. Shifty.

"Heya, Kit." He said to me with a soft smile, having me see his beanie on his head to keep him warm and he walked in to close the door behind him. Since Beta's death, Shifty was nothing but kind and comforting to me. We would stay up together, side by side as I was trying to sleep without screaming or crying because of the mourning. Shifty was none the less constant with me, and it wasn't only him. The rest of Easy, especially Bull, Babe and Doc, were concerned about me and were making sure that I was okay. I hated being seen in this much pain and such an emotional mess, but they didn't seem to mind. At this point, we were all so fragile at that point and we just wanted to find peace again from all we already lost.

"Heya, Shift." I replied back, looking back at the ceiling above me from my cot that I had in my own room. He walked over to be next to me on my bed, one of my arms behind my head and the other resting on my jacket on top of me. There were scattering pops of guns going on outside as I looked up at Shifty from my spot on the cot. He looked concerned there from seeing me already looking like death because of the past events.

"Guess who's back with Easy after being away for so long?" Shifty asked me, the small smile on his face, having me look at him in question and wonder. I could tell he was trying to lighten my day though like the day's color it was mostly gray and less lively.

"If it's Sobel, I'm gonna punch you right here and now." I replied back to him in my grumble of a tone. But he shook his head since that did sound far fetched and out of reach. But I stayed quiet as soon as he mentioned the name.

"Webster." He said the name with such a ring in the room that it made me for once in this whole shittiness of a day smile. Webster, the first Easy member that I have ever met, was coming back from being on hiatus and healing. He was wounded when we were at the Crossroads, and he never got to go into the literal hell of Bastogne or Foy.

"You shitting me?" I asked, seeing him smile and shake his head to show that he was in fact telling the truth. Hell, this could be a good day, after all. I needed some optimism back in my mind these days, and this was going to be good enough for me since Webster was as much as being optimistic as the next guy. He was a good guy, and I would be beyond glad to talk to him.

"Come on, he's downstairs talking to Malarky, Lipton and Spiers." He said to me as I slowly got up from my spot on the cot. It was hurting my body to move around a bit since I was laying in that coy for what felt like hours. But I swung my leg over and cracked my neck as I got up to my feet. Smoothing my hair out to get it manageable, I started to walk over to the door in order to further see Webster and give him a hug. But before I could even make it out the door, Shifty grasped my hand and I stopped, looking back at him and seeing the hesitance clearly on his face.

"You gonna be okay?" He asked me, since the past month I was nothing but a mess to be recognized it. It was lowest I have ever been since I came into the war, and yet I was still alive and walking around from place to place without a second thought to it. I smiled at Shifty, squeezing his hand in my own and nodded my head.

"I'll be okay," I replied back to him seriously, seeing him watch my eyes and he nodded reluctantly and we both walked out of the room together, "Thank you for looking out for me."

"You look like you need a friend these days." Shifty explained to me with his kind tone and a sincere smile on his face. I grinned at him though my muscles were not used to smiling in those days.

"Which is why I have you, Doc and Bull," I replied back to him as we were about to approach the stars and head down a flight of them to the main room, "You boys are like my three musketeers."

"I like the sound of that." He said to me in a joking manner, the sound of us chuckling at one another lifted the room that used to be gray and empty, making it sound lively again. Once we reached the bottom, I walked along the hallway and left Shifty to walk behind me before I made it into the main room where I could hear voices coming in and out of the building.

"Hey look who it is. Nice digs huh?" Luz's voice rang through the room.

"Yeah. Sgt. Lipton. You feeling alright?" Webster's voice now was heard then as I watched in the corner.

"He's got Pneumonia." Luz explained.

"Sorry to hear that." Webster apologized.

"What are you sorry for? He's alive, he's got a couch, a goddamn blanket. He's snug as a bug." I peered into the room since I didn't want to make a scene just yet as I saw Luz dropping an army blanket over Lipton and Webster looked on.

"Sgt. Malarky said to check if I should be in 2nd platoon." Webster explained to almost a stammer since it felt like he was out of place already there.

"Have a seat, Webster. We'll get you situated." Lipton instructed him gently as Webster finally sat down and kept his eyes still on Lipton.

"How long have you been sick?" He asked cautiously.

"Long enough." Lipton replied, having me find that moment to walk into the room now and make my presence known. Lipton was propped up on a bench, still looking sick to the bone and was holding a cup of coffee with his blanket over his body. Luz had a cigarette in his mouth and was talking with a clean and newly returned Webster. Poor Web, he already looked like he was out of place with his clean uniform and not an ounce of horror that was imprinted on him. I smiled widely as he looked over at me now with a huge look of shock on his face.

"Heya, Web!" I said with a smile as I walked over to give him a hug. He dropped his bag and hugged me back, having me feel the warmth there in the hug and how he sighed in my hair when we embraced. I was glad he was back safe and sound, and once we pulled way from each other, I looked up at those bright blue eyes that I first saw back in Fort Benning, the same look of kindness and innocence there.

"You're looking alright, Kit. Though you do look a little out of it." Webster explained to me, eyeing me up and down and I shoved him a bit from how he sounded. He was a breath of fresh air compared to the rest of the boys who were just trying to breathe.

"And you still look great, almost like you came right out of Harvard." I commented back to him as he grinned his white teeth at me. It made me wonder how he was feeling being back here with the guys, and if they were feeling the same way back to him. But before I could even talk to him, another person walking into the room and we all shot a look over at him now. He was, like Webster, looking fresh and unstained compared to the rest of us in the room and he had his helmet on as well as his bag in his hand. I Wondered if he was really fresh, fresh off the boat and was now strolling in. But I saw the mark on his helmet: he was a lieutenant.

"Is this the company CP for Easy?" He asked, already sounding authoritative yet his face looked like he was 18 years old compared to the rest of us. Webster nodded his head.

"Yes, sir." He replied yet I did nothing at all since I didn't have to answer to him. I only eyed him as he both need myself and Webster. First he eyed Web, but when we looked eyes he was frozen in his spot. I could have been a huge shock to see if I was in his shoes since I doubted he was expecting to see a female officer with a group of men. I looked different compared to the rest of the guys in my black uniform and my slimmer body, along with my wavy jawline haircut that I had to sport.

"As you were," He said to Webster, though I shifted my stance to be almost in front of Webster with a raid eyebrow at him and now he was already talking to Webster in such a manner, "Lt. Jones. I'm looking for Captain Spiers."

"He's on his way, sir. Why don't you sit down." Lipton suggested to him since he was still at the doorway. Jones walked in, taking off his helmet as Webster sat down in the chair behind me and I stayed still to eye Jones as he walked across the room.

"Can you grab me a coffee?" Lipton asked one of the others that were in the room before he looked back at Jones, "You want a coffee?"

"No thank you." Jones replied politely before Lipton looked at me with his warm eyes.

"Kit, you want coffee?" He asked, having me finally tear my eyes away from the new Lieutenant and back to Lipton who was waiting for me an answer.

"Sure." I replied the soldier nodding his head and he walked out to get our coffees. Lipton gave me a weak smile from his spot on the couch, no longer having the ability to walk around but having to stay still. That had to have been hard for him since he was such a caretaker to us, now the roles were reversed.

"Jones, this is 1st Lieutenant Kit from Wolf Company. She's our sniper, along with our Staff Sergeant Shifty Powers." Lipton introduced the both of us. At this time in my both though, I had no real desire to be nice to him. Something about him coming in there and ready talking to Webster in such a manner and wearing the norm in almost a flaunting manner made me become more bitter to him. Was this the case with the rest of the men? We were no longer really thrilled to meet new people since we already lost so many close friends to us. Hospitality seemed to no longer be in the mix for us.

"I haven't heard of Wolf Company a whole lot." He confessed to me with a small smile though I saw both Luz and Lipton shift their eyes from him to me to see my reaction. Even Webster scooted a bit closer to me now in case I was going to do something that I would regret. I didn't move at all, though my eyes that were looking at him were seeming to be more hostile and kind.

"Shit, well that's a first." Luz said under his breath as he was still shuffling papers around from his spot in the corner.

"Her Company has aided us in Bastogne and Foye. If it wasn't for them, we wouldn't have made it out alive." Lipton explained some more though his eyes were on me and I eyed him now, trying to find some sense of normalcy in this whole sense of a situation. I didn't think I was going to explain to this new guy what it meant for me in this war as a female.

"That is quite impressive. I'm sure the rest of the men are beyond glad to have you in Easy." Jones replied to place nicely, but when I shot my eyes back at him, I could see he was still feeling out of place there because of how much anger I was once again feeling because of all that happened to me. I wanted to be able to go back to my normal self, but it was no use. The Pain was overcoming me really, and I hoped to pray that I would end up better in the end.

"I would hope so too." I replied coolly at him, having me feel Webster slip his hand in mine to both calm me and silently tell me something. I was glad he was holding my hand there, keeping my close to him and feel the warmth of his hand. I knew he was going to remind me through his hand that I had someone who was glad I was there with him. I squeezed his hand there as Jones finally looked away at me, having me close my eyes and feel Webster tug me over to him a bit more.

"_Du bist in Ordnung_." (You're okay.) Webster whispered to me though I didn't feel okay once again.

"_Ich fühle es night_." (I don't feel it.) I whispered back to him, feeling him squeeze my hand once more to silently tell me that I was wrong. I have missed him so, since he was always looking out for me when I needed it. I moved my hand away from Webster as Jones was looking over in our direction now, but mostly at Webster.

"So what platoon are you in?" he asked Webster in more of a casual manner.

"We're about to find that out." Webster replied back smoothly from his spot in the chair. We then heard boots coming our way, all of us looking and me having my heart once again flutter a bit. Ron walked in, haven't been able to shave for a couple of days and looking just as grungy as the rest of us. But he didn't look like he was wanting to be there since he looked more agitated than anything as Jones stood at attention and the rest of us were just watching him come in the room.

"Cap. Spiers, this is Lt. Jones." Lipton tried to introduce the both of them, but Ron was looking at him now like Lipton was in trouble.

"Listen, for Christ's sake, would ya go in the back, back there and shack up? There are beds back there and fresh sheets." He said to Lipton, whom now looked like a kicked puppy and nodded his head as Ron walked over in my direction. He eyed me though his walking was a bit slower now since he saw that I was angry and I wasn't looking too happy at my end of the room. He kept his eyes on me for another couple of seconds as Webster moved out of his way.

"I will, sir. Just trying to make myself useful, sir." Lipton apologized to Ron though he was still in his own element when we all looked to see Winters walking in now with Nixon hot on his tail. I was reluctant to look at Ron one more time when Winters spoke up.

"Listen up, Regiment wants a patrol for prisoners." He explained to the group of us there in the room.

"This one comes from Colonel Sink, so it's not my idea." Nixon added, looking a bit more hesitant about the whole idea than Winters was.

"Since the river's our only line of resistance, we are going have to cross it to get to them." Winters went on some more with the plan, in which I was trying to calculate it in my own head and see how it was going to play out with us.

"What do we have to do?" Ron asked from his spot near the piano and near Webster and I.

"There's a three-story building on the enemy's side. Up the embankment. We know it's occupied, you can have 15 men. You can think really hard and on who you want to lead the patrol. We're gonna need a lead scout, a translator, and the rest of the battalion well be on recovering fire." Winters explained, mostly to him but to all of us.

"When?" Ron asked.

"Tonight, 0100." Winters answered.

"Yes, sir." Ron ended it, already thinking his head and his eyes shifting away so he could think.

"Spiers?" He looked back at Winters as he was called again, "They want this to be as safe and as foolproof as possible."

"Yeah, don't take any chances on this one. We're too far along for that." Nixon added in with the conversation, having me nod in agreement with this. We didn't need another mission to go wrong now that we were all already walking on a tightrope. Ron nodded to show that he was listening and he then looked over at me, the both of us looking eyes with one another and I was wondering what he was thinking.

"Spiers, I wanna discuss who might go." He tore his eyes away from me as he walked back over to Winters while Nixon was talking to Jones and eying him up and down. I didn't really want to be in the room anymore, so I looked over at Webster and clasped him on the shoulder now.

"I'm gonna get some fresh air." I said to him, moving before he could say anything to me now. What I needed was tog et my own mind back in place and back on track, no longer wanting to feel a lot of hate that was now trying to spew its way out of my pores and towards people who had to real reason to get it from me.

* * *

I sat out on one of the ledges of the ruined buildings, a hole was blown through it and there was a big opening on the side where I was sitting and dangling my feet to breathe in the winter air there. I was leaning against the brick wall behind us, having me close my eyes and tried to get my lungs to work again, but I was really just wanting to hide under a rock somewhere since the anger I was feeling was about to erupt. It was reaching the point where looking at the new Lieutenant was making me pissed, but I was seeing it there for myself and I needed to find a way to contain it. This was not me, this was not who I was. War brought out the worst in me, along with the demons I tried to bury.

Reaching into my jacket pocket, I pulled out the pair earrings that I have kept with me since Foye. They were the same earrings Beta was wearing when she was killed: her bullet earrings with the scarlet jewel on the top. The girls thought I should be the one to keep the earnings since I was the closest to Beta compared to the others. She was almost like the sister I never had and I wished I had, and now she was gone. I clutched the earrings in my palm, almost painfully to remind myself that it was no dream and this was real. She was gone now.

"It's dangerous for you to be out here." I opened one eye to see Ron walking over to me now, his hand shoved in his pockets and his head tilted over to me slightly. I sighed, sitting up a bit against the wall and shoving Beta's earrings back into my pocket before he could see. We haven't been able to be with each other a while lot since we kissed in the church back in Foye, and I have missed being real close to him. But since now he was Captain, and we were trying to get our heads above the water line again, there was never a time for the both of us to sit and just talk about what happened.

"I just needed time to think, sir." I replied back to him, seeing him pause when I addressed him as Sir now. That must have sounded so foreign to him, yet he still walked over to me and sat down scared from me with the same kind face he had.

"You can still call me Ron." He stated though I eyed him in disbelief now.

"You sure about that?" I asked him, seeing him smile at me and nod his head at me.

"Positive, Kit." As soon as he said my name, it sounded so pleasant in how he was saying like we were not in the war, but almost like we were the last two people in the entire world. If only that was the case since I didn't want to talk about the war anymore but just anything else that would bring my spirit back up.

"You okay, Kit?" He asked, leaning a bit towards me though there was still space there between us, "Back there in the room, you didn't seem like yourself."

"Yeah, well, I was robbed of that when my best friend died in front of me." I replied back to him in almost a painful manner though he kept quiet as I tried to breath out once more and feeling the pressure on my chest there. Just mentioning the incident with saying her name was bad enough for me. After I had a moment of my own self-pity, I looked up to see Ron watching me and once again seeing no sense of judgment from his end. It made me sigh and shake my head in defeat.

"I'm sorry, that sounded pitiful." I said back to him. But he shook his head.

"You're trying to heal from what happened to you, there's nothing wrong with that." He explained to me calmly though now I eyed him suspiciously.

"This coming from the same soldier who told a private that he has to accept that he is already dead in this war." I countered back with him and he was smiling at me now with almost a chuckle on his lips.

"You're right, but I think I had a change of heart." He answered back yet I gave him a small smile.

"What changed it?" I asked, wondering how his view of war changed within mere months of being in the war.

"You did, 1st Lieutenant." He replied in a simple tone. I was taken back that he said that about me. He was still amazing me in how he was talking and acting towards me compared to the others in Easy and even in Dog Company. But now that he was in Easy Company with us. Did he see the change here because of it?

"I never took you as someone who flatters." I called him out once again, and he once again smiled at me and I couldn't help but smile back at him. It made me think once again about the situation that was back at Foye, when we kissed in the church and how it have me see colors once again within my world that was turning gray. How could one kiss give me that sense of life?

"I don't mind it at all if I'm doing it with you." he said back to me though now It was my turn to tilt my head at him in curiosity.

"You amazing me, Ron." I said to him simply. He looked confused.

"What makes you say that?" He pondered to me.

"When you talk to me like that…like I'm some girl you're interested in." I explained to him with a shrug of my shoulders. It seemed like it like he was trying to talk to me in a way that was not flirting but was not settle either. It was pretty crafty on his part, I would give him that. But the next sentence out of his mouth made me almost want to fall off the side of the building and disappear altogether.

"Well, I am interested." He said simply like it was nothing to him yet it was everything. He wanted it tis sound so cause and yet so important bucks of how he was feeling to me. I tried to find the right words to say to him and how I wanted to figure this whole thing out with him.

"Why would you be interested in me though, Ron?" I asked him almost sheepishly, since this was once again a new thing for me, for someone like Ron to express his feelings who heartedly.

"Why not? I find you to be someone whom I can be myself with, and I do care for you." Ron replied from his back against the brick wall.

"Yet you just called me you friend back in Foye." I countered with him, being him think about it for a moment or two before it struck him what I was talking about. When we were standing at the edge of the forest, how the battle was already not going in our favor, and he called me his friend and nothing more. If it was anyone else, even Liebgott and his sassy ass ways to me, I wouldn't care. But it was Ron, someone whom I could wear my heart on my sleeve with and not feel the weight of guilt against me. It hurt when he only saw me as a friend, which was bizarre for me since I knew he was doing it because of that fact that we were in a war. But there was still the lingering thought that he liked me back.

"Kit," Ron started, thought he paused to show that he was struggling with this whole conversation that I had to bring up, "I think of you more than a friend."

"You do?" I asked him, seeing him break out his smile at me again.

"Of course I do. But I think I said that to remind myself of why I was here in the first place: to help win in a war," He explained to me calmly, having me still keep my eyes on him. "But that changed with me when I saw you getting hurt from that German who hit you. It didn't matter to me anymore, really to didn't. All that mattered to me was that you were okay and that I could find a way to show you how much you mean to me." I felt the warmth again in my cheat when he explained this to me, almost like a confession that he was holding to his chest and his heart to pour out at the right time.

"So…when you kissed me back at the church. You weren't just doing that to make me feel better?" I asked him in almost a croak since this was still blowing my mind from what I now knew of him and how he felt for me. He thought about for a mere moment before he answered me.

"I was, but I mostly kissed you because I've been wanting to kiss you for a while and I never got the nerve." He replied back to me almost in a nervous manner, having me suddenly feel like blushing since he told me that.

"Why didn't you?" I questioned him with the smile still plastered on my face. He then looked rather sheepish, almost stuttering over his words then and rubbing the back of his neck in a nervous way.

"I think it was because you intimidate me a bit with how you hold your shotgun, so I didn't want to get it wrong or overdue it." He replied, having me suddenly have a small chuckle on my lips. It was morbid, beyond that on why I was laughing like this and no longer mad or afraid. We just confirmed with one another that we liked each other, and even in the middle of a shitty war with my own heart broken into a thousands pieces from the death of my best friend, I was feeling my heart was repairing itself because of the affections from another man. After he said this, I saw him scooting a bit closer to me now and our knees were touching, having me suddenly feel out of place because of how he was looking at me and how his hands were now on top of my knees to grasp my hand in his. I knew that I wanted this, but it suddenly made me remember.

Remember Gerald.

"Wait." I said suddenly moving away from him and then getting up not he floor now, seeing him watch me because I was now no longer near him and almost looking like I was having bad memories flooding over me. I didn't want to think like this, not now when Ron was just trying to be close to me and not scare me. He still didn't know what happened to me, and I had no heart to tell him now. What if he ran away from it? What if he looked at me in disgust? But how could that be so since both Shifty and Doc were more concerned about me than anything else. They didn't run from me, but would Ron?

"Hey, you okay?" Ron asked me now in hesitance as he slowly got up from his spot on the ledge and walked over to me. I didn't want to tell him then, it didn't feel right. So I lied, mostly lied.

"I just….I didn't want us to be seen by anyone out there." I said back to him though he was reading my eyes more than anything. He then looked out the window where we once were sitting and he then looked back at me.

"I think you're right." He replied back to me with his smile back on his face again. We were now hidden within the darkness of the room. But there was the small sliver of light from the open was coming in and having me see the tint of the rays on his face. Oh, his handsome face that I always saw in my own mind when I was asleep or when I was nodding off and not paying attention.

"It's only that…I haven't had a real good relationship," I confessed to him softly since I wanted this to not be awkward and be more realistic, "Ever."

"Oh," He said in reply, looking a bit more shocked about what I told him, yet I eyed him and I was trying to read what he was showing on his face. He looked surprised and he looked stunned from what I told him, and this made it worse for me to get through at that moment. This was the last thing that I wanted, for him to see me this way.

"I know that sounds really pitiful," I said to him as he was walking over to me now, the look was back on his face that made me stomach turn and I kept talking to just ramble for the sake of rambling, "But honestly, the last relationship I was in end up pretty shitty, which makes me really think that I'm not good enough to be in any relationship at all—"

I was cut off with his lips on me, his hands framing my face and our bodies pressed together.

It was a soft kiss like before, but the way he was holding my face in his hands made me think that this was right. It had to be right on how his lips tasted against my own, how my vision was bursting and exploding in colors as I closed my eyes and my hands were on his waist just to hold onto something. This felt more natural than anything, and I found myself once again kissing him back hearing in intake a breath, almost like he wasn't expecting me to kiss him back. But how could I not?

His fingers were touching my short red hair as he planted one more small kiss against my lips before he pulled away from me to look down at me. I was once again in shock that he decided to kiss me and keep me this close to him.

"I don't mind. I like you too much to mind." He said to me, having me confused for a second as to what he meant. But then he meant when I was talking about my past relationship and how it was not a great one. I smiled at him then, thinking that I was suddenly too lucky to have someone like him in my life to change it around for the better.

"What if someone finds out about us?" I asked him in hesitance, though my hands were still on his waist and not letting him go and his hand were still on my neck and keeping me close to him.

"Then you can shoot them, point blank." Ron merrily replied with his smile still plastered on his face, though I cocked an eyebrow at him from how he was making it sound so simple.

"You make it sound so simple, what we have together." I voiced to him though I felt his thumb stroking my cheeks as he then voiced what he was feeling.

"I think what I am feeling for you is far more than just simple. Although I hope you feel the same." He said back to me with his soothing tone. He saw what we have as good, more than good really. But he then wanted to know if I was feeling the same way if I wanted this and if I was alright with this. This is what I needed, and he was what I needed in order to get better. I had to remind myself that he was no Gerald, Ron was not going to hurt me and not in any way betray me. We were too close as friends for that to happen, and yet now we were something more than that.

I just answered him with another kiss on his lips.


	28. Chapter 28

"Sir, I need to talk to you for a second." Ron was trying to talk to Winters in such a low tone when I walked into the room now, seeing Martin there and some of the others there talking to one another. I knew they just had a meeting with each other on who was going to go on the patrol and who was going to stay behind. I was not called to the meeting, apparently I thought I wasn't going to go since they would have enough, but from the looks I was getting from the others in the room, that was not the case at all. Even Shifty, who was sitting with Grant and Babe, was looking uneasy.

They all looked grave.

"What's going on?" I asked, walking into the room where most of the men were sitting or standing around a dining room table. I walked up next to jones, though I gave him now notification that I saw him as I looked from Martin over to Joe and Webster, both of whom were watching me now and they were not looking too pleased with what was happening so far with the plan. So I looked back at Martin again to get some kind of answer from him.

"We just made our team for the patrol tonight." Martin replied to me in his cool attitude, which was the first clue that I had that this was not good. The look he was giving me was graver than ever, having me realize that it had something to do with me.

"They want me, don't they?" I asked him in a low manner, almost like I was afraid to mention it. He said nothing, but I heard the murmurs from the others behind me as I looked over at their faces, seeing that it was true.

"Sink does, he insisted." Babe explained to me coolly, having me see Shifty eye me with worry and Webster close his eyes in defeat as Joe just look agitated about the whole thing to begin with.

"Sink does?" I asked since I was understanding why Sink would want me to go to begin with.

"He figures we could use your rifle skills out there." Joe replied back to me though I could see in his eyes he was not in one of his lighter moods. I adverted my eyes over from Joe to Webster, seeing that he was giving me his painful look. Well, Shit. It seemed like I had no choice in the matter at all since I was partially ordered to go out and get prisoners. Sure it was an easy mission, but it was more like a punch in the gut that Sink wanted me to go personally and he in fact carried that order out.

"Looks like I have no choice, do I?" I asked out in almost a bitter tone as Martin moved a bit closer to me.

"Kit, you do have a choice, you know that right?" He asked me. I looked at him with a hard stare.

"Apparently I don't when Colonel Sink himself wants me to go." I answered him back, seeing him look back at me no longer with the hate that he would usually carry himself, but with some kind of tenderness there like he knew what I was feeling. The last time I was out in a situation that wrecked me was when Beta died. So now I have to go through it again? Didn't Sink know that I had enough?

"But sir, we don't need anyone else on this missions apart from Kit. She can sit out here and look out for anything happening…" His voice was in the other room, but it was loud enough for the rest of the Company to hear. It made me think if any of the others were wondering what was going on with me and Ron. Did they have a clue? Was it worth telling them? Christ no. I was still shocked that we were in a relationship now, and we were now going to have to be sneaky in how we were going to be together. I tore my eyes away from Martin back over to the men at the table, in which Joe was looking right at me now with the clear look of judgment there on his face. From how Ron was talking to Winters, it sounded desperate for me to be taken off the team. Did Joe catch up onto it? From the look he was giving me, he was catching on to what was happening. The very last thing I needed as Joe being sassy with me.

"Sounds like Captain Spiers is trying' to keep you from breaking a nail." Joe said out loud, even though the others said nothing while I placed my hands on my hips, one of my hands near my knife that was folded up. The tempting thought of me throwing a known near him to scare him was flooding me now since he was trying to get under my skin.

"And it sounds like you really give a shit." I shot back at him carefully, and at this point the rest of the men in the room were shifting uncomfortably in their seat as Joe was holding his ground.

"Like I care what you do." He spat back at me, Shifty moving his eyes over to him and looking rather grave now as he folded his hands on his lap.

"Good to know. How about you keep my name out of your mouth for now on." I warned him with my voice getting a bit louder and Martin next to me look at me now in case I was about to do something to him. My fingers touched the knife handle, and I was really wanting to throw it at him.

"It's not my problem that you're a hot topic around here, but it does concern me when you have this superiority complex about you and you flaunt it like you're hot shit." Joe said back to me, having me now flare at him. Within seconds, the knife was thrown and it landed on the table in front of Joe, handle up in the air and the sound of the blade piercing the table was deafening now. The boys froze from the gesture, and Joe was now floored from what I did. Some of them moved away from the knife like it was poisonous or curse as I walked over swiftly to stand next to the knife that was stuck at the teetering edge of the table. As I placed my hand on the handle and grasped it, I glared at Joe who was looking up at me now. He was trying to be grounded in his stare, but I knew I scared him.

"You have you fucking right to talk about who I am and how I conduct myself, Private Liebgott," When I mentioned his title, I knew I was laying it on thick with him and he glared at me now as I went on, "Compared to you boys I went through literal hell already when I saw a good person die in front of me, two of my friends lose their legs and three others die out of my own control. I've already been abused and used as a pawn because of one man, and I don't intend on giving a rat's ass about someone's opinion like yours." I dug my finger around the handle and held it in a death grip. But it was still dead quiet, and I could see Webster and Babe look at me now with wide eyes because I mentioned how I was used as a pawn because of a man, did they even consider what that meant? Shifty looked away from me in pain because I could tell he knew what I meant. Even Joe looked a bit softer now in his spot in front of me in his spot, yet he stayed still as I took the knife out of the table and held it in my hand like I was about to stab him.

"Don't you ever talk to me like that ever again, you understand me?" I asked him through gritted teeth, but it was taking so much energy to just stand there and not punch him or being cocky and rude and a bastard to me, "I've had enough of you lot judging me and thinking that I'm not like you. Believe you me, I have worse demons than you can even imagine in your insignificant brain." With that, I walked away from him now, not wanting to be in that room anymore and needing a place to just scream out and not have anyone touch me. No one said a single word until I left the room and was a good amount of feet away from the now.

"You had to open your mouth, didn't you Joe?" Grant asked him with a bitterness there on his tongue.

"Lay off Grant." Joe warned him with his own low tone.

"He's right, you know." Webster added.

"I don't really wanna hear it from you, Web." Joe barked at him now with a hint of aggression and then it was silent for a few seconds.

"What did she meant by that?" Babe asked in curiosity.

"Meant by what?"

"When she said she was used as a pawn by another guy." I froze in my walk, wanting to hear what they were thinking about in the whole outburst I had with Joe. No one said a word, having me think that they were all pondering that same question themselves and trying to piece it all together. I was just acting myself more and more since only Shifty and Doc really knew what happened to me. Speaking of which, Doc was coming into the room and he was about to smile at me when he saw the look on my face. A knife in my hand, my other hand was shaking from the anger that was in me, and my eyes were filled with hate when he took off his helmet and glided over to me now in concern.

"You alright?" He asked me, his eyes first were on me and then going back down to the knife in my hand. I looked too, thinking of how I got to the point of where I was walking around with a knife in my hand like it was nothing. This was not me, and Doc knew that. Which was why I slowly folded the knife back up and placed it back on my hip again before looking back at Doc. He was still quiet, almost too quiet for my liking.

"I was gonna come an' grab ya to tell you, the showers are still open if you want go and take a shower." He explained to me with his calm and soothing with his accent ringing in the room. It would be nice to be out of the building and try to head straight again, since Ron was nowhere ready to be alone with me since he was trying to get me out of going on the patrol. It was noble of him, but it was going to be of no use. Then again, thinking of being by myself was once against going to bring out another round of bad memories and nightmares.

"Kit," Doc called to me softly, having me snap out of my thoughts and look over at him now. He too looked like he went to hell and back like the rest of us, but he was giving me a look of pain from being me so entangled with my own thoughts. He knew, and he could see it on my face that I was thinking about it again.

"Sorry Doc, I'm just…I don't wanna go in there alone right now." I confessed to him in almost a stutter. Just thinking about me being alone there in the room was the last thing I really wanted to do, and I had no real urge to be alone with my thoughts and my mind to go to play. Doc had the look in his eye that he knew what I meant, and he shifted a bit to stand closer to me now and he had his hands back now on his satchel strap that was across his chest.

"Being 1st Lieutenant and all, you can just tell them all to leave ya." He suggested to me with a shrug of his shoulders and a look of hope in his eyes.

"They won't do that, I knew they won't." I argued with him, but he shook his head from my remark.

"Bull, Shifty and I will guard it for you." he explained to me, having me eye him to see if he was joking. He wasn't, he was just giving me the same loving stare that the would usually give me, and that stare was laced with seriousness since he was trying to read me up and down. He knew that himself, Shifty, and Bull were my closest friends in the Company, and he wanted me to know that the three of them were not going to let me be led astray and to my own demise. I smiled at him even though I was still feeling like shit more than anything.

"That would be great Doc."

* * *

It was pathetic really, having me sit on the floor of the showers alone with my knees to my chest and my chin resting on my knees. The water was falling over me with the heat hitting my skin and making my skin go pink yet I was still too occupied with the memories and haunting voices in the back of my head. Doc and Bull were in the front, guarding the place for me, and Shifty was in the back with the back flap there, which left me alone in a mass room with no one to talk to or look at .

I needed to be alone.

Ron was trying to get me out of it, to get me out of going on the patrol since the last thing he wanted was to send off his new girlfriend to a mission that could end badly. But i knew there wasn't going to be some kind of compromise with Sink, since he was still convinced that I was good enough to do something like this, that war was not going to taint me.

He was wrong.

Even though I was glad to have something good going with Ron, I was still trying to find myself again because of recent deaths prevents that were happening around me. I only wished I could get out of my head and trying to be my old self again That was sounded more far-fetched than before. What would have happened to me if I stayed with my parents and family if I didn't take that leap of faith to go see my Uncle and for him to send me off to the army. Now that I was seeing the war with new eyes, I knew my Uncle was jut trying to protect me and make my life worth while. Was this worthwhile?

I had to think positive. There had to be positive things about this war. As the water was matting my short hair to my skull to somehow cleanse me, I thought of all the men that I met in the army and who accepted me right where I was. Of course, I had to think of my three musketeers: Bull Shifty and Doc. They did represent my own brothers well: Bull had the leadership and smile of Andrew, Shifty had the concern and protectiveness of Samuel, and Doc had the innocence and loyalty of Ethan. They were the same, the brothers I lost when I went away to war.

And then there were the girls in Wolf Company. They were nothing but accepting of me from the moment I walked into the training camp. We were our own family then, holding each other down and up from the tough and depressing times, though now it felt a bit more hollow because of losing Beta, who seemed to be the spirit part of our group and the joy that was there. If I was going to get through the rest of this war, not to mention the rest of my life, I had to find a way to get the old habits and demons out of me and bring in the positive ones that I knew were going to make be better in the long run. There was no need for me to try and push the ones away that were trying to get me to be better.

I had to change for the better.

* * *

I got my rifle over my shoulder to be strapped to my back, moving my newly washed hair out of my eyes and started to get my fingerless gloves on. My hair was braided back to me away from my eyes, my bangs in a dutch braid to move along my skull to be on the back of my head. When I came back from my shower, Winters explained to what I already knew thanks to the guys.

I was going on the mission.

I was going to help out with the firing and the leadership aspect to it, working alongside Martin so we can get in and out with no questions asked. I was glad that I was going to be helping with Martin and leading the men over the river in the dead of night. Sure I was still hating that thought of me doing it, but I still had a job to do because of who I was and what my role was in the army. I had to think positive now, no longer in the past and no longer in fear.

"Kit?" I turned to hear Ron call my name as he walked into my room now. I haven't seen him since he stormed off to talk to Winters about me not going with them across the river, and from the look on his face it wound seem as though he wasn't too thrilled about the whole situation now. I just smiled at him, still getting my gloves on my fingers as he was watching me from a few feet away.

"You heard." Ron said to me in more of a fact, having me nod my head.

"Winters just told me. I'm running the mission with Martin, that Lieutenant Jones guy is going to come and mostly observe I guess." I explained to him as I then checked my belt with my knives and other tools that I used in the past.

"It's going to be a risky one." He started, but I shook my head at him now.

"It's going to be fine, Winters even said that we go in, grab the prisoners, and come back without a hiccup to the plan." I replied, my voice flowing in the room softly since it was now night and everything else sounded so gentle.

"I still think it's too risky…to let you go." He said the last part with hesitance, having me watch him look at me now no longer as my Captain, but as someone whom I started a relationship with and confessed my attraction to. He was my better half for certain, and now he was hating the fact that I was going to go out there. Was this was first of many times that he was going to be worried about me, to the point of wanting to protect me from anything that could hurt or kill me? I should have known he was going to be doing something like this with me, not that he hasn't done that before when we were just friends who cared.

"Ron, I can handle this." I reassured him as I walked over to stand in front of him, yet his eyes on me were telling me another story.

"I'm not saying that you can't, Kit. I just don't think you're…" He trailed off since I could tell he was trying to find the right words without sounding so sexist and or rude. I smiled at him, reaching up to cup his face in my hand to have him look at me directly.

"You don't think I'm ready to go back yet." I stated to him, seeing him search my eyes then as I cupped his jaw with my hand and felt the stubble there along his jawline.

"You've been through enough already, Kit. I don't want another mission to make it worse for you." Ron explained to me a bit more boldly, having me fee him gently place one hand on my hip and the other on my wrist that was near his face.

"I promise you, Ron, that this is not going to break me. You're right, I haven been through enough to make anyone else break at the seams. But I'm not like anyone else, and you know that." He smiled when I said this since I was trying to make it lighter than it should be with him. To me, I had to do this to make it right with myself again and no longer be afraid of the dark.

"If something does happen to you over there…" he tried to make me see what he was seeing, and feel what he was feeling.

"Then I am going to take care of it myself for now on, as I have done in the past." I reminded him, seeing him then give me a small smile I knew that it wasn't enough for him to make him fine with me going on with this. I really hoped that we could make it out of this alive and stay together. I was still willing to go on with this mission and try my best as the Easy Company sniper, and I would hope that he would see the same thing.

"Just stay safe, it'll make me feel better." he informed me, having me nod my head and lean over to kiss him on the lips. The overwhelming feeling of warmth was back over me from my head to my toes. Since we started kissing each other, it was slowing becoming my own sense of light those days and my own sense of pure happiness, merely because we both were enjoying it and taking it rather easy with it. But once he pulled away from me, his hand still on my hip and staying close enough to me to kiss me once again, he spoke up with a bit of hesitance this time.

"I heard what you said to the others, when you were yelling at Liebgott," He said to me careful, though I was about to argue with him, "However, I am on your side with how he's been talking to you, would you like me to talk to him about it."

"I scared him enough." I replied back, seeing the smile back on his face.

"Anyways, I heard what you said to him, about being used as a pawn because of some guy." His voice was now serious as he was giving me a look of concern and worry now, having me curse myself for him hearing that part of the yelling rant that I inflicted on Joe earlier that day. I really hoped that he wouldn't hear about what happened to me anytime soon when I was still trying to get better myself.

"What happened to you?" He asked in such softness that it almost sounded like a whisper. I had to tell him, I trusted him enough to know that this was going to make me better, in the long run since bottling it up was already and enough for me. He had to know, I knew he did. But now was not the time and he just heard of it. I just took a deep breath through my nose and I stared at him intently.

"It's not good, Ron. But I can promise you this: I'll tell you all that did happen to me as soon as I come back from the patrol." I promised him boldly, feeling his hand on my hip grip me but gentle enough to show that he was listening.

"You promise?" He asked in such a hopefully way, and I had to follow through with me. The one thing that I did not want to do was start our relationship based on lies that I told in order to protect myself. He didn't deserve that, and I didn't in a sense. I just sealed it with one more kiss to who him that I did promise.

I promised.

* * *

I took the scope down from my eye as I peered over the cold waters of the river to see what was happening on the other side. I could see some buildings, an observation deck, and some search lights going on in the middle of that God forsaken island. It was 1 in the morning, and we were about to head over to catch the prisoners and bring them back alive.

"You see anything?" Martin whispered next to me as I looked back over at him.

"Nothing. If they're hiding, they're hiding extra good in there." I whispered back to him, feeling him clasp my shoulder.

"Any problems?"

"No. It's secured to the tree. No sign of any AP mines."

"Let's go." We were all shuffling down the side of the earth that had the boats there. I could see a long strip of wire that was along the top of the river for us to use to get across, We weren't wearing any helmets, though my hair was short enough to pass off as a man anyways, but it was still a bit of a horror for me because of fact that I was the only female there, out in the open. This could be bad for me, though I said nothing as I hopped into a boat with Webster and Lieutenant Jones The rest of the men that were coming were shuffling in their own boats and trying to get their bears when I was listening for anything that could be coming our way.

Once we were ready, we got the rope between us now and we started to shuffle our way along the river, one boat at a time and we sounded pretty good, though my boat was more towards the back as were keeping a good pace. Out of nowhere, someone fell in the water and all of our heads snapped over to see who it was, someone muttering "Shit!" in the night. I peered over, seeing that it was Sisk that fell in, along with Garcia and Cobb.

"I can't swim!" Sick said in a pleading manner, yet Cobb grabbed him along with Garcia and they pulled him to shore, not making it with us on the trip. Jones, who was right behind me since I was sandwiched between Webster and himself, motioned for Martin to keep going since Martin, was in the first boat. Martin nodded, pulling himself across and we were still going to go on.

3 men down. Great.

Once we reached the other side, We all piled out boat by boat until my boat was the last, having me launch myself out and away before I made it up to the front with Martin. We both crawled to the floor on our bellies, my rifle on my back and my fingers digging into the earth until we reached a wired fence in front of us.

"Wire cutters." Martin said to me, having me fish out the cutter I snagged before the mission and reached over to cut the first tow wires free. After we got them released, Both Martin and I pushed them out of the way for the men to crawl through and find over on the top of the island. Once they passed us, I ran low past the men to find some cover behind a broken brick wall and broken wired fences to peer around, my rifle now moved to be in my hands as the others were still trying to find cover. We were still in the clear, no one or nothing was moving around us, and this was going to be good in our favor I was guessing.

"Powers, Wynn, secure the left flank." Martin was whisper behind me as I was keeping my eyes peeled as to where the pistons where and how we could reach them, "Lieutenant, take Grant and Rameriez secure the right flank and the crossroads."

"Heffron and Webster, with me." I said to Babe behind me along with Webster, seeing them nod and follow me as we were all splitting up now. I moved over to the right, the other two following me as we were cutting ahead of Martin who had the rest of the men behind them. I moved to being next to the building, staying close to the wall and trying to hide in the darkness that was there within the island. We were swift and quiet, having me find us along a stone stairwell that was leading up to the building that we wanted. I told the others to pause, having me hearing nothing from the stairwell as Martin met up with us and his men were right behind him,

"I'll go find another way in, you guys stay put and help with Martin." I explained to the both of them, holding the rifle close in my hand and then seeing Martin eye me.

"Take it easy out there, Lieutenant Kit. Be careful." he advised me, having me nod my head and come to the corner where I was trying to find another way into the building, The stairwell was the only way to go really, and there had to be some other way. After going up a smaller hill, I could see that this was the first floor, no longer the basement area where we cone were. But one of the windows was hanging a bit low, low and open. After securing my rifle on my back and having my hands be free, I took a bit of a running start to launching myself up from one of the crates that was underneath the window and grabbed the bottom of the window sill, hoisting myself up and sliding into the room.

I landed without a sound, my boots happen t have landed on a carpeted floor and I crunched low, my hands in front of me in case I had to use them for defense. I was in some kind of dining room, yet the dining room table itself was blown in half and it all looked messy. I crawled my way over to the side of the room, looking from left to the right as I was trying to find the opening that would lead to the basement that the prisoners were in. I was in the wrong area of the house, which meant that I had to go exploring some more.

Moving out into the hallway and staying as close to the wall as I could, I could hear other murmurings of German soldiers coming into the area of the house where I was. I peered up and down the hallway, wondering where I can find a way to the basement though I found a small door cracked open and the small sliver of light that was there. Walking over. I was about to head into the room when the ground shook and an explosion was heard in the basement.

Shit.

Someone ran into the hallway to get to the basement, having me see them now see me and I threw up my pistol, about to shoot them when they shot at me back. I dodged it, ducked and running to the living room to get them away from the basement when another explosion was heard. This time, it was bigger, and shouts were heard. A hand was on my back, grabbing at my hair and pulling me back in time for me to whirled around and slam the heel of my palm into his jaw to release me. He released my hair and I kicked him to the floor another soldier showed up at the opening of the hallway where I just rang from. I threw my gun at shot at him, seeing him fall to the floor in a collapsed manner as I could hear the screaming of the men downstairs. I looked down for one second, thinking that I heard Webster shouting in German and Martin as well, when I saw the first solder pop up again with a busted cheek and I bolted, hearing him behind me and trying to grab me. There was an opening into the kitchen, and a small awning overhead where there was a bit of a gap that was big enough for me to fit my fingers in. I ran through, whirling around at the last second, and then gumption to grab the awning to kick the soldier hard in the chest. He fell to the floor, having me jump down and see him go unconscious.

"Fall back! Move!" Martin was heard from outside the window, having me bolt over to the open window and look down. We were coming out of the basement in a bolt with the gunfire that was happening now since our cover was blown and we were going to be in big trouble. Three men were carrying Private Jackson, who looked like his face was melting off. I was no longer thinking of myself, I was thinking of the men and that we were going to be screwed if we stayed on this island another second. They had to leave.

"Martin!" I yelled, seeing Martin look around and then up at me, "Get them out of here! I'll be behind you! Go back to the river now—" I was cut off by someone grabbed my neck and bashing my head against the window sill that was open, having me gasp out in pain and then two hands grabbed my arms to pull me back into the house before I could say another thing.

"Kit!" Martin bellowed in concern, but I was facing a German soldier, and another one holding my arms back with two sets of hands. I was bleeding from the head and my hands were shaking because of what was happening though I didn't let up as the soldier was seeing me up and down. He had no weapon on him, so I tried to think of some way to get out of this room alive. The gun firing was going on outside as he eyed me with a small smile on his face.

"_Wir töten diese ein_." (We kill this one.) He said in a low manner, almost sickening when I eyed him back. I could see blood out of the corner of my eye from it pouring down my face, and the grips on my arms were going to leave bruises, but when the soldier was close enough for me to breathe in his stench, I head butted him heard and he yelled out in pain as he collapsed to the floor. I jammed the heel of my foot into the soldier's foot that was behind me, feeling him loosen his grip enough for me to yank my arms forward out of his grasp and then whirl around to punch him hard in the jaw. He fell to the floor, having me freeze up and then finally breathe out. Bolting over to the window once more, trying to miss the fallen soldiers around me on the floor, I peered out again to see the men making their way over to the boats and trying to get the other to go too with them. It made me sigh in relief since I could fend for myself really compared to the others and I could find my way back. I just had to find a way back when this was all over now.

But it was when I turned around and had someone plow a rifle across my face and made me collapse that it all went to hell. I didn't hear them over the gunfire, and I crumbled to the floor now, my face was on fire and I was finding it hard to breathe. Looking up, I could see a German officer now, tilting his head at me as he was holding his rifle that he took me out with, almost a small smile on his lips as he was now seeing me as some kind of prize.

"_Bewahren Sie Diese ein. Ich have eine Idee_." (Keep this one. I have an idea.) He explained to his private as I closed my eyes from the pain in my head.

I saw darkness.

* * *

**Ron's POV**

Where was she? Where was Kit?

I looked through the men that came back, having me see no sign of Kit anywhere. They were trying to get Jackson into our own basement and away from harm to see a medic, yet my mind was back at Kit and where she was. This made me panic since we were already screwed from the mission already and only bringing back two German prisoners though the third was left behind and Jackson was on the verge of death. we were missing our 1st Lieutenant. Martin explained to me that she told us to run first, not worrying about her and to get back on the river.

Not to worry? Fat chance.

Although I had to get our soldiers back in place and make sure they were alright, I was about to lose it because Kit was nowhere to be found. I knew she promised that she was going to come back, and I believed her. So for me not to see her here, it made me wonder what she was doing in the heat of the mission. She had to have tried to get back, something or someone held her back.

Damnit.

I walked into the basement to see the men and to make sure they were alright, although from what I saw, it was grave. No one moved nor made a sound in their spots since they were all looking at the dead body of Jackson who was on a stretcher. Doc was leaning over him now, already looking defeat since he couldn't save him and the others were on the verge of tears from the whole night. I saw Martin walked over, grabbing a blanket that was draped over Sisk's shoulder, and he covered Jackson's body without saying a single word.

"Martin," I said to him, seeing him eye me now and walk over as the rest of the men were still in silence. I could read on Martin's face that he didn't like how this night was going, but I had another subject on my mind, "Where's 1st Lieutenant Kit?"

"She told us to go ahead without her, sir." He explained to me calmly but I was making fists at my sides now because of what she told him to do, "She was keeping it calm for us. If it wasn't for her, we would have been dead from not knowing what was coming."

"But you don't know where she is?" I asked him, not wanting go really lose my patience with him and snap his head off.

"No sir, but she's going to be fine sir," Martin replied back to me, having me sigh and shake my head. I did not like this, I wanted her back with us and no longer in danger. Damn her and her independence.

"Sir," Martin and I looked over to see both Shifty and Babe walk over to us now with the worn look of defeat on their faces, "We can go back and get her if you want."

"No, you boys went through enough. We can get Bull or someone else to do it." Martin measured them, but they shook their heads.

"She could be in trouble, and I wanna be able to get her." Shifty said to him with the boldness of his speech. I was about to tell him not to, but we then heard shouting outside, right where the river was. It was in German, all of us staying quiet and listening to what it was. I had no idea what was being said, which was why I looked over to Webster and I saw him listen at first. Whoever was shouting out loud was repeating a phrase, over and over, and it made Webster's face go sour and heat in anger as we watched him to find out what was going on.

"Webster?" Martin asked, having me look at webster's hands as he was grasping his rifle in anger. I never saw him angry, and I doubted anyone did, so this was not good.

"Come out. We have your soldier." We all were frozen in our spots when he translated that out loud. We all knew what that meant, and that means to be that heads were going to roll. They had Kit.

They had her.

We all suddenly bolted outside the basement, me leading the way since I had to see her in order to know if it was true or not. Once we reached the outside area, we ran over to the edge where it dipped into the river and we all came to a skidding halt. My eyes were wide and I was trying so hard not to just swim over there. Since Kit was there, behind held up by a German officer with her hands at her sides and her face looking grave. They were at the edge of the river water on their side but he was close enough to pressed up against her and it made me blood boil. Her face was covered in blood, a gash was on her head and her hands were shaking. She was not in a good position.

"Oh God, Kit." Babe said in a moan was the officer looked right at us now. 13 Americans were looking in fear at one of their own on the other side, caked in blood and her eyes were pleading for us to save her. Why wasn't she fighting back? Something was up something that was trying to stay hidden and away from our own eyes. The officer then yelled out a phrase at us now, having me keep my eyes on Kit and see that she had tears in her eyes and they were falling down her cheeks, mixing in with the blood there.

"Captain, he wants to talk to you." Webster translated for me as he was standing next to me now. I nodded my head, but I turned my head over slightly without breaking eye contact with Kit.

"Shifty, use your scope and watch her." I said to him in a low tone. Shifty took out his scope and stood behind me as the officer started talking again, his head too close to Kit for my liking and I could see her shaking. Their faces were lit in the moonlight and everything else around us was still.

"You have two of my men. I want them back." Webster translated for me as the officer went on with her German, "If you don't bring them back, you soldier here dies."

"Tell him that he harms our soldier, he dies on the spot." I explained to Webster. He yelled it back at the Officer and I was beyond angry that he was holding Kit in such a manner that was making me sick. I wanted her safe and away from him, to be with me where nothing was going to touch her. The German officer replied back to me with a bite in his tongue, his hand was was on Kit's neck tighten and I took a hesitant step forward without even thinking about it.

"You killed too many of my men, what is one for you?" Webster translated with the bitterness in his tone.

"This motherfucker." Babe snarled from his spot, but I held up a hand for him to shut up. I had to find a way to get Kit away from him and for her to live, since the last thing we needed was an Easy member to say the wrong and she dies.

"He needs to know the rules of prisoners of war." I replied back to Webster, who translated. As Webster was telling him this, I felt Shifty walk up and over to me now, his face was grave.

"Sir, something's up with Kit." He said to me in a worried manner, having me look over at him now as the others were staring at Kit and the Officer, who was smirking and talking softly to Kit in almost a tuning manner.

"What is it, Shifty?" I asked. But someone was beating me to it with a question on thier own lips.

"What is she doing with her hand?" We all looked as Sisk asked the infamous question. Her hand was moving, mostly her fingers, like she was making some kind of pattern. We all witness her making patterns with her fingers in a shaky way, which had me wonder what was going on. Was it some kind of signal?

"Christ," Talbert voiced gravely, "She's fingerspelling." I looked to see if he was telling the truth, having me see her make the letters and I knew it was true. She was trying to talk to us now without using her words, and thankful half of us knew her fingerspelling. I learned from Beta, from Easy knew from Kit.

"He knows the rules, and he hopes you know the rules as well." Webster voiced to me.

"What is she sayin'?" Martin asked in a low manner as the German Officer was yelling at us again. Shifty was the one spelling it out.

"D-O-N-T….S-H-O-O-T." Shifty spelled out with his scope back on his eye.

"He wants us to bring out his two soldiers." Webster explained to me though I was more occupied with what Kit was trying to tell us from across the river.

"K-N-I-F-E….I-N…..M-Y… S-I-D-E." Shifty said out loud, having my eyes go wide and look to see if he was saying it right. The men were now in total shock and they were shifting uncomfrotablly now. There was no visual of his other hand, that gone from my sight against her back. I shot my look back at Kit, who was looking right at me and her tears were turning into sobs now since I knew it was true. He already stabbed her, and I knew what he was doing. The smile on his face, the way he was holding her close and not letting go for one second. He was going to kill her either way, and he was already killing her.

"He stabbed her." Martin ghosted out from his lips, having me really hope that we weren't going to do something stupid. But I wanted to grab my pistol at shot him, yet he knew. If we shot him, she would go down with him.

"Fuck this." Someone said behind me, having me hear the cocking of a gun. But I shot my hand up to stop him from making one stupid move that could cost more lives than what I wanted.

"You shoot him, she goes with him too. No one make one fucking move." I warned them all with a bit of my tongue. I was in the same position as they were in: I wanted the bastard dead. But this was now how I wanted it to be since we were going to be getting her into more danger that what we wanted it to be. They all were quiet again, knowing the gravity of the situation, though I looked over at Shifty right behind me, who took down his scope from his eye and watched me with a scared look on his face. That was his best friend who was about to die, and I could tell he wanted to save her.

"You get into the building, find a clear shot and take it. I want his head shot, nowhere else." I instructed him in a low manner, the others were looking at me now as I was giving Shifty the look of death and importance at the same time, "Do not miss this shot, Shifty. Kit's life depends on it."

"Yes, sir." He said to me, moving away from us now and having me see him disappear back into the building as I looked ahead again. I was feeling my own heart breaking from seeing her, literally dying in front of me now was the hidden knife was deep in her to keep her awake and alert, and to slowly kill her. She was trying to keep a brave face, maybe because he threatened to turn the handle and make it worse if she gave it away. This had to end soon or sell she was going to die. I was not going to let her die. No, no way in hell.

"He wants an answer, sir." Webster translated for me. However, we were all very still at that moment as I drilled my eyes into the officer that was holding her life in the balance. I wanted him dead, buried and forgotten, yet here I was at his mercy.

"Tell him we will bring them out." I said to him calmly, Webster yelling back at him though no one moved. I couldn't hear anything else as I titled my head over to where Babe was.

"Martin, go grab Doc and get him out there," I said to Martin, whom disappeared into the night and away from us, "Babe, I want you, Martin and Doc to go over there and get Kit as soon as I say so. No one else, we will be back here in case they are retaliating."

"Sir, he's going to kill her if we shoot him." Babe warned me with a gravel in his tone.

"We are not going to let that happen. That is why you, Martin and Doc are going to get out there and bring her back before she gets worse. I will not lose her, not tonight." I explained to him boldly as I looked back at Kit again. She was losing focus in her eyes on me and her face as looking paler and paler now. I could see something trickling down her back and scattering on the floor, it was dark and it was moist. Her blood. I was now fuming and I praying to God that Shifty was going to take the shot sometime soon. I heard Martin and Doc run up to be next to us now, having me look to see Doc's eyes going wide and filled with fear from seeing Kit there. He was close to her too, and I could see it on his face.

"Kit." He gasped out in pain, but Martin placed a hand on his chest to stop him.

"Come on, Shift." I said under my breath. This was not what I wanted for the both of us. She was someone whom I cared abut, more than anything in this Company, and for me to see her die in front of was going to be the end of me. I was falling for her, slowly and surely I was, though I was not going to admit it. Kit was coming under my skin and over my senses. I needed her in my life, to be able to hold her again and to touch her was going to be more an addiction to me than anything.

I could tell she was about to collapse when a gunshot rung out, having me see the Officer gasp and a bullet rang through his head, right between the eyes. He closed his eyes, released his hold on Kit as he collapsed to the floor. Kit collapsed too, having me suddenly find my voice again as I saw the knife sticking out of her side.

"Babe, Martin, Doc! Now!" They all bolted down to the boats, the rest of us having our guns out and ready in case something was to happen. But my eyes were back on Kit, who was laying on her side with the knife handle out in the open near her ribs and her eyes glassing over.

She was dying.

* * *

**Kit's POV:**

I was in pain, more pain than anything as I was collapsed on the snow bank. The hand that I tried to reach out was now laying in the river, though I was in too much pain to pick it up from the freezer temperature of the water, and my eyes were getting fuzzy as my pain was overtaking me. The knife in my side, dug into me to the point of the handle touching my skin and blood, was making it hard for me to breathe in and out since I was gasping or air at that point. I could see the others with their guns out, yelling at me to stay awake, and the small boat with Martin, Babe and Doc was coming my way. It was hard and I was fighting there in the snow bank.

The only thing keeping me alive was Ron.

He was screaming my name as the boat was getting closer to me now, and every breath I was drawing was harder for me to keep in concentration. Death was coming over me now, and I wonder if this was what God wanted for me: to die from a stand wound at the hands of a German and there was nothing for me to do about it. I wanted this pain to stop now, but there was no use as the boat was now near me, Babe and Doc running over to me now as I was slowly closing my eyes.

"Hang on, Kit! Stay with me!" Doc said in a pleading tone as he was tapping my face to stay awake and place his hand on my side to stop the bleeding. I was more afraid to die since I was going to leave these men behind and go to either heaven or hell. Since I kissed Ron, I wondered if we were ever going to have a future together and if that was even a glimpse of us happy. I wanted to think so since my past was already shitty as it was. But now he was giving me hope, all of the boys were really.

"Kit, don't you dare close your eyes on me!" Doc ordered me as Babe was placing his hands on my face and Martin was trying to pull me without killing me or making it worse. I was slowly feeling the numbness come over me now as I was ready to accept death, to accept the fact that I was going to finally die. I was no longer going to be in pain, to be in bad memories or shame. I was going to be free.

I closed my eyes, Doc ringing my name out loud in agony and my mind going blank.


	29. Chapter 29

**February 10th, 1945**

**4:08 am**

**Ron's POV:**

There has only been one other time when I was absolutely petrified about death, or how death was affecting someone that I knew. My brother was hit by a car when we were younger, almost getting killed. I remember thinking that he was dead, the sense of drowning was coming over me and making it hard to breathe as I waited for him in the hospital waiting room. That was the only other time I remember being scared of death.

And now I was going through it again with Kit.

I was pacing back and forth in front of Kit's room, waiting to hear from Doc to see what became of Kit. After she was brought back across the river, she was already unconscious from the blood loss and Doc was fighting off anyone else tooth and tail from touching her. None of us has been him this bad when it came to someone touching one of his patient, let alone his best friend. He was livid, and rightfully so. They carried her over to her room back in the building, and all we could do was wait. Now I was currently outside in the hallway with Bull and Winters, the three of us now just being patient and hoping for the best.

Bull was in charge of staying in front of her room and keeping her safe while she was behind examined, though after a good 20 minutes, Doc had to resort to getting one of the French Doctors in town who was way more experienced in handling something like this. So here I was, pacing in front of her room and waiting to hear from the doctor there.

This was utter bullshit.

A part of me was mad at her, for having to be a hero in her own mind and protect the rest of the men, though that meant that she would be placing her own life on the line of fire. Yet the other part of me was worried about her if she was going to be okay. From the look on Doc's face, when he came out of the room to grab more gauze and morphine, it wasn't going in our favor.

I blame myself for developing feelings for her, to kissing her when it wasn't professional. It was not right for me to do so, but it still felt right when I did it. I wouldn't take it back though now I was hurting on the inside from what happened to Kit. This is not how a Captain should act, yet I was not acting less of one and more of a worried boyfriend. What in the hell was wrong with me? Why was she doing this to me when I was just trying to be a good enough Captain?

The door opened, the doctor coming out with Doc right behind him and both Bull and myself looked over to see what was going to happen. But once we made eye contact with the doctor, he looked rather grave. Winters walked over to be next to them, having me see that he too didn't like what was going on with Kit. I eyed all three, and Doc's eyes were shifting down to the ground. They knew something and they didn't want to share it, but thy were going to be with me.

"How is she?" I asked them, trying to sound professional and not desperate. But Winters was watching the french doctor, seeing that this was serious and then he looked over at Bull.

"Leave us and head back to the others." He ordered Bull. Bull nodded, even though it seemed more reluctant, and he walked away. I could see he was torn up from not being able to hear what was going on with Kit. Once he was out of earshot, the doctor spoke up.

"Lieutenant Kit suffered a stab wound to the side, but the knife didn't hit anything too vital for her." The doctor explained with his thick french accent, "However, her rib is now splintered and it will take a good couple of weeks until she can heal up properly. She needs to stay in bed until you decide to move to another town, and she cannot go into battle anymore." I nodded in agreement, but he still looked rather grave, along with Doc.

"What else happened?" I asked cautiously, now looking over at Winters who too was confused as to why they looked like they were about to be sick.

"While I was examining Lieutenant Kit, I discovered her rib was already trying to heal from a previous accident." The doctor explained some more, "Your combat medic explained to me that she has not had any real problems with her rib while in the war, which would indicate that she had this wound inflicted on her by force long before she was enlisted."

"I don't understand." Winters said next to me, voicing the same thing I was thinking in my head.

"She shows signs and has visual marks in several parts of her body of a…past assault on her by force and without her consent." It felt like a house dropped on me. Was she assaulted? By force? I was floored, not saying a word as I looked from the doctor over to our medic. Doc was still looking at the ground, not saying a word and avoiding looking at me since I could tell this was affecting him too. Winters looked rather grimaced as I found my voice again after keeping it quiet for far too long.

"You mean to tell me, doctor, that she was…" I couldn't say the word, it was too vile and too ruthless to say given the circumstances.

"She was raped." I closed my eyes in defeat after hearing those three words. How could someone do that to Kit? Why Kit? She was someone who I would never have guessed that have inflicted on her, and yet it still seemed to real for me to get my head around. It pained me to think about it.

"There are visual marks and signs on her body that indicate that this happened to her, but it's not fresh." He explained some more to the group of us.

"What do you mean by fresh?" Winters asked him in confusion since his own arms ere crossed in front of him and he was resting one of his hands on his cheek since he too was floored by the news.

"This didn't happen to her when she was in the war with us, sir." Doc answered Winters for the doctor, who nodded to show Doc was telling the truth. If this didn't happen in the war, it must have meant that it was the man that she mentioned, the man that used her as a pawn. She was supposed to talk to me about that when she came back, but now it was somehow making more sense than it should.

"Right now, all we can give her is rest and then after that, you can decide whether or not to send her home to keep her in your Company." The doctor explained to me as I was still in shock from what I heard.

"Thank you." Winters thanked him kindly as the doctor smiled and walked away. It felt the rest of us in the hallway, having me try to find my breath again from the news that I just heard. Almost like a sledgehammer to my chest, making ti hard for me to swallow and try to compose myself. I looked up and at the others, noticing that I wasn't the only one that was having a hard time dissecting this whole thing.

"She never mentioned that….not even once." I murmured almost in pain from my spot.

"I don't think she wanted to," Doc replied back to him, "It's none of our business anyways."

"We do as the doctor says: let her rest as much as she can," Winters explained to us, trying to compose himself again in front of us as our leader, "This does not go out to the others in the Company. We don't say a word unless she wants us to, it's already way too delicate of a subject. Understand?" He was trying to protect her own life with this secret since Doc was right: This was her personal life and it should not be placed on display.

"Yes sir." we all replied to him in a mutter.

"Now, I'm going to call Sink and let him know what happened, along with Captain Jacobs in Wolf Company." Winters said to us and then walking off down the hall. I was left with Doc, and we were still in shock. At least I was from what I heard of him. It was making me so angry and giving me grief from what happened to her. I knew she had a rough past with her family, but this was like I was being slapped across the face with reality. She went through more than anyone ever should in their life, and I wondered how she was still alive and full of life and spirit when she was already bruised and in pain from her past demons.

I had to talk to her about it.

* * *

**February 11th, 1945**

**4:13 am**

**Kit's POV:**

I dreamed I was a little girl again, being an around by my father and him holding me close. There was no sign of war, no sign of pain or agony, but my father and I swinging and playing in the backyard we had at our house. I loved that dream, but it was when I woke up I realized.

I wasn't dead.

I was in a bed, back in France. I thought I was dead, and I was on my way to heaven. It felt like that, but not anymore really. I was alone in a room, darkness was still around me as I thought it was early in the morning, almost dawn as my own middle was wrapped. There was a taped down gaze on my gash, feeling like it was tended to and healing up. It made me forget for a second what happened to me, but then it all came flooding back. I was stabbed.

Oh shit.

I remember it all. The gash on my head from being hit with the pistol. That hurt like hell. The officer, him stabbing me in the side when I was facing away from him, but not letting me go to drag me out and see the sea of faces that were in Easy. Oh God, their faces.

They were all looking like they were in pain and in agony from seeing me there in the clutches of some mad man. I could see it in their eyes, they wanted to kill the man to just get me away from them. I never wanted that from them, to see them hurt from what was happening to me. My fingers were spelling for them so they knew what was happening, I wasn't going to yell out for them because they could have been killed if I tried. Once again, I was thinking of others before myself. Damnit.

Where was everyone else in Easy? Were they freaking out? I knew the rest of the men that were on the patrol saw me being stabbed and they were screaming my name as I fell to the snowy ground but were they wondering how I was? I wanted to find Shifty, Doc, and Bull since they were really my three musketeers as friends. But then I also wanted to find Ron, oh Ron.

Where was Ron? Was he freaking out? I felt like he was must have had an emotional toll from all that he saw with me. Shit, I wanted to find him. I breathed in, feeling the burning pain there from where the wound was, but I also breathed flowers. Flowers? Craning my neck to the left, I saw that there was a nightstand there, but it was covered in every square inch with flowers that were inside small glasses filled with water. Some were glasses, others were mason jars, and the rest were tin cans. The flowers were all different species of flowers, colors and shapes that varied which caught my eye. There had to be at least ten flowers there in separate glasses, and even some above me on the windowsill since there was no more room in the stand. Who gave these to me? I was about to question it when I heard the door open and I looked over to see who it was that was poking their head in.

Malarky, with Bull and Garcia right behind them.

"Heya, Kit." Malarky said with a small grin, the other two following him in. They each had a flower in their hand with its own glass of water, having me grin as they walked over to stand next to me in my bed. I was glad to see them, but being constricted to the bed was making it hard for me to want to hug them. Malarky placed his flower on the windowsill that had a room as Bull walked over to stand next to me, reaching over to grasp my hand in his. I had no idea how he was feeling about the attack that I had to go through, and I had to make sure that he was okay with what he was seeing.

"You've been out for a whole day. How are you holding up there, Kit?" Bull asked me softly, having me watch him and see that he looked worn out himself like he never got any sleep at all.

"My side hurts like hell, but I'm not gonna let that stop me." I tried to joke with him, but he still looked bit somber from what was going on with me. I squeezed his hand in my own though my hand was small in his bigger hold that almost swallowed my hand. Something was haunting him, and it made me wonder what it was before Garcia spoke up from his own area next to Malarky.

"All of the guys found flowers for ya out in one of the gardens near the edge of town." He explained to me with a bit of lightness there.

"They all did?" I asked since it was still a shock that they all did that for me. It was such a token of kindness, something I never thought I would get from a couple of the guys, those select few that would rub me the wrong way.

"They all did, including Liebgott surprisingly," Malarky said to me with a small tone of humor behind it, "Hell, he was the one that helped Shifty take the shot on that German."

"He did that?" I asked him, not even being it in my head that Joe would do that. Joe and I never got back on a regular talking basis from my spat with him. So for me to picture him trying to help me, whoever mean that sounded, was enough for me to have faith in the guy again.

"The rest of the guys are wondering how you were doing," Bull explained to me once again with the softness in his voice, having me look back at him and smiled from my spot.

"I'll be okay, you can tell them that," I reassured him, seeing him smile at me as he was still holding my head, "You know where Doc and Shifty are?"

"Doc went to the hospital for more supplies for both himself and Spina, and Shifty is on patrol with Babe," Malarky explained to me as he was rearranging the flowers on the window sill for me, "I'll let them know you're awake and you wanna see them."

"Thanks, Malarky." I thanked them, "I feel bad for scaring you boys."

"You petrified us, Kit." Bull explained bluntly, his voice was inching with pain. I knew this was going to happen, the others being mad at me for putting them through emotional shit like that. Most of them saw me along that bank with the German there, holding me there like a pawn and they could do nothing but watch. That made it worse, much worse for me. This was not what I wanted when it came to these men, putting them all through hell. Especially Ron, who was probably going through emotional hell at that moment. I had to find him and make sure he was okay since he was the one who tried to get me out of the patrol team that night.

"I'm sorry for putting you boys through that, but I wasn't going to let him hurt any of you." I explained to Bull calmly.

"So you would rather get yourself killed than one of us?" Bull asked, his voice was bitter and out of place though I stayed quiet. I knew where he was coming from, since it was the ultimatum of either my life or one of theirs.

"It's what I was supposed to do, Bull. I was supposed to protect you boys from being killed." I told him, but he shook his head.

"I don't think that's what any of us on that river bank were thinking, Kit. We were worried about our friend who was dying in front of us." He replied, not his voice was no longer bitter but a bit wavy because of the pain that was evident there. I understood then where he was coming from. Because of seeing one of their friends almost die and not in the best way possible. It was still mind-blowing to me that they considered me to be one of their own, one of the Easy soldiers. I should be beyond glad that I was not dead, but then again I still felt bad about how it affected them all.

"Sir." I snapped my head over to see who Garcia was talking to, having me heart drop to the put of my stomach when I saw who it was: Ron. He was standing in the doorway, looking right at me with bags under his eyes and a look of pure somber there. I was so glad to see him, and he looked glad to see me too.

"Come on, let's give them privacy." Malarky said to both Bull and Garcia, the three of them reluctantly moving away from me and shuffling out of the room. It left me there to be alone with Ron, who moved to close the door behind him and walk over to me slowly, almost as though he was afraid to move too fast to spook me. But I kept my eyes on him the whole time, not saying a word and seeing him eye me up and down to make sure I was okay. I didn't know what to say to him, or how to tell him what happened to me. He then slowly lowered himself to sit on the bed, having enough room where he wasn't going to touch me, but he then laced our fingers together and I felt the warmth again.

"How are you feeling?" He asked me quietly, which scared me since it didn't sound like him at all.

"I'll be okay, Ron." I answered, yet he still looked sour about something that was in his mind. I watched him, seeing the pain there on his face as he was watching me. So I squeezed his hand, hoping to get whatever was haunting him out of him before it would get worse.

"What is it?" I asked him softly.

"The doctor examined you while you were still unconscious," He started with a gulp and an intake of his breath, "Your rib was splintered from what the officer did to you."

"Which is going to heal up soon I take it." I added, not knowing where he was going with this conversation and why he was looking so burdened.

"Kit, he saw that your rib was already damaged." He explained to me now, having me pause and eye him suspiciously.

"What do you mean?" I questioned. Ron looked down and away from me since it seemed like the next thing he was going to say was going to make him want to vomit.

"Your rib already had some damage on it from what happened with you before you came to the war….and you know what I'm talking about." He said gravely, having me loose my own train of thought and cringe in my spot. He knew, he found out from the Doctor who examined me and found the evidence from the rape. Ron now knew what happened, and yet I was going to tell himself before the patrol went all haywire. How was he feeling about this now? He had to hear it from embody else, and not from me. That had to have been a slap in his face, and now my heart was breaking.

"That's what happened, with that man, wasn't it Kit?" Ron asked me quietly, our hands still connected and our stares at each other were intense, "He….raped you."

"Yes." I replied, since hiding it from him was no longer an option.

"Who was he?" Ron asked me, still looking more composed than I thought he would.

"He was my ex-fiance. We were engaged when it happened….and I haven't seen him since." I explained calmly yet I was holding onto my hand tightly to show that that be pained him, what he was hearing from me. I never wanted him to find out his way, but I had no other choice or way around it.

"You told me once, that you came to the war to get away from something…that he the reason?" Ron asked with his voice almost sounding shaky and uneven now since he looked like he wanted to cry from it all. This was a new side of him I never thought I would see since he was more of an intense force to be reckoned with.

"Mostly, but it also had to do with my mother trying to get me to go back to him." I explained calmly though he gave me a shock of anger from the news.

"She wanted you do go back?" He asked bitterly, "And she knew what happened?"

"No," I stammered out, since I wouldn't want him to hate on my mother for something she had no power over, "The only ones in my family that knew were my brothers."

"But still, she wanted you to fix it." Ron kept going.

"I would never go back to him, Ron. Nothing is going to make me go back." I promised him boldly now, since I could see him thinking about it his head and how sick it was that my mother would want me to try and fix something between Gerald and I.

"Why didn't you tell me before?" He asked me in wonder now though I bit my lip and tried to find a way to explain it to him.

"I was going to after the patrol, remember?" I asked him, seeing him think to himself again, "And I never wanted to really have that be the main topic of conversation anyways. I didn't want the others to only see me as a victim of rape, but see me as a soldier."

"You're more than that to the men, and to me." Ron explained calmly, rubbing my hand with his thumb and having me feel a chill go down my spine from the feeling.

"I know I am, but it was still something that I was afraid to admit what happened to me. It's not really a great subject matter any who." I countered back with him, seeing him scoot a bit closer to me on the bed, reaching up with his spare hand carefully to place it against my cheek, having me feel the calloused fingertip and palm there against my skin and I smiled at him. This was making this bittersweet moment that I was feeling in my chest became more of a content feeling and less of a burden, since Ron was not running to the hills from what he heard about me. I felt broken, shattered into a thousand pieces, and never good enough to be whole and to be with Ron. I knew he had sins of his own, but mine was overtaking me and making me feel worthless.

"I'm sorry that I didn't tell you, but I felt like you wouldn't appreciated me if you knew what happened to me." I explained to him almost a broken manner, but he shook his head.

"I would never do that to you, Kit. Not in a million years." Ron reassured me, his face was now soft and no longer in pain as we were close enough to breathe each other in, "I'm only sad that it happened to you, and how it affected you."

"It doesn't affect me that much anymore, not as bad as it did before. Trust me, it used to be hell to be able to let someone get close to me, let alone touch me." I explained to him, seeing hie eyes go to his hand was on my neck and cheek.

"Am I am exception?" He asked.

"Of course, since I have the feeling that you would never do that to me. Ever." I answered, seeing him nod his head and lean over to kiss my head with such loving tenderness that it was going to make me cry. I felt his lips against my skin, the hand on my neck staying so gentle and still and the other hand clutching my hand having a possessive hold on me. I had to be able to accept that he wasn't going told what Gerald did to me, Ron would never do that. I knew him well enough to know that he was stern, but he was stern enough to be a good friend and a protective one. He held people close without showing it.

"I would never hurt you in any way, Kit. I care about you too damn much to see you get hurt again." Ron said against my head, still staying close to me and having me clutch his jacket with my spare hand and try to feel grounded and safe within his embrace that he had on me, "I only wish that I stopped it from happening."

"I know you would have." I murmured to him since my lips were touching his jacket then, "It's less painful now than it was before I came into the army."

"Really?" he asked me now, pulling away to look back at me right in the eyes.

"I think so. I have friends in Easy that are making it better to breathe every day, and less of a pain to wake up in the morning. And the girls in Wolf Company, I don't think I would have gone through training in one piece without them." I explained to him since it was all true. Without the support of both Easy and Wolf Company, I don't think I would have gotten through the whole war and the whole healing process without them and just having their company there for me to experience and feed off of.

"The doctor explained that you should no longer be in combat since you're still healing from both the stab wound and….the ex-fiance incident." Ron passed before mentioning it like it was a tooth he had to have pulled out of his skull. I eyed him since this was going to be another can of worm for me now.

"Really? What did Winters say about that?" I asked him.

"He's all for it. Winter's is calling your Captain and Sink to let them know." Ron answered.

"And what if Sink wants me to go back again? Apparently he thinks I'm indestructible." I advised him. Ron looked a bit more agitated when I brought up Sink.

"You're not going back on the line, even if Sink asks you to. The last thing this Company needs is to lose a good officer and soldier. He's going to have to realize that you're not made of steel." Ron replied back with the boldness back in his town, "And the doctor also said for you to stay in bed and not move around until we leave the city."

"Great, I hate staying still." I said in a bitter manner though Ron chuckled from my antic of throwing a small tantrum.

"You're gonna have to get used to it for the next couple of days, and I will make sure you don't move around too much." Ron reassured me with almost a stern tone, sounding a bit like a parent scolding a child.

"And how are you going make me stay in bed, I wonder?" I asked him coyly, seeing his grin spread wider on his face as he then leaned over to almost brush his lips against my own. He was making it far too hard for me not to lunge over and kiss him hard since I was away from him for far too long. But then again, I had to act professional and get my own shit together.

"I have my ways." He replied back to me with my lips as we then kissed in my bed. It was like a burden was lifted off of me, and like my eyes were seeing the light again. The fear of Ron not accepting what happened to me was far away from me now, and there was no sense of holding onto the past anymore when it came to seeking the approval of others and their acceptance.

He never saw me as more than enough for him, and I never had to worry about that anymore really.

* * *

**February 12th, 1945**

"I see your two cigarettes, and I'm going to raise it two more cause I think you're bluffing!" Luz commented to me as I grinned at him from my spot with my card in my hand. We were playing another round of cards with Christenson. Babe, Webster, and Shifty, which entailed me having me take placed on my legs delicately without killing me and the boys sitting around it to having some time with me.

After Ron and I had our moment alone, I was greeted by Shifty and Doc, whom both hugged me carefully and were sterner with me like big brothers would than happy to see me. Doc was the most concerned since he was acting like a mother hen with my bandage and making sure I didn't move around too much. It got to the point where I was going to shove him off of me if he poked me with his curious fingers one more time, but he got the message.

"You think I'm bluffin'?" I asked him coyly, my head still getting used to the taped gauze on my forehead and the smaller scratches from the patrol were fading now as Luz just winked at me.

"You think everyone is bluffing." Webster countered back with Luz.

"Ah, tis true dear Web. I think you all are bluffing." Luz retorted with his own version of an English accent. We all chuckled as I placed my hand in front of them all to be seen.

"Royal flush. I win." I said in victory as they groaned and I took the loot in the middle of the table.

"What gives, Kit? Since when do you play poker on the regular?" Christensen asked me as he was about to shuffle the cards to get another around going.

"Since I have three older brothers who wanted to corrupt their baby sister, in which they did." I replied back as he just eyed me with the look of suspicion back on his face.

"Never took ya as a poker lady anyhow." He commented though I stuck my tongue out at him and he chuckled from my gesture,"Then again, you're kind of a tough cookie around here."

"Amen to that," Webster said in agreement as Christenson shuffled the cards some more,"What else did ya do with your family anyways, other than hunt and hustle people out in poker?"

"Let me think," I said to him as I leaned back in my bed, "My mom forced me to learn how to play the piano."

"Look at that, a renaissance woman right here in Easy, fellas! How about we get ya a piano and you play us some Beethoven or Mozart." Luz joked as he lit his own cigarette in his mouth.

"You wish, that was more like playing teeth. I learned classical music, but I had a knack for ragtime music." I explained to him as Christenson was passing out the cards for us to play.

"Ragtime? You can't be serious." Christenson said in almost a groan, but it was harmless really.

"Hey, it was either ragtime or more classical music, and by the time I was 12 years old, Classical music was spewing out of my ears." I replied back to him, the other chuckling from their spots around our makeshift table before we heard a knock on the door. We all looked even though Luz had to turn around in his seat as we noticed that it was Joe at the door, poking his head in. No one said a word and I was more shocked to see him than anything. But he looked at all of us, giving us a neutral face.

"Heya fellas, what are you up to?" He asked casually and with lightness there.

"Just playin' poker, though Kit here is kicking our asses." Luz answered him as he looked at his own hand of cards with a grimace.

"I was wondering' if I could have a moment to talk to her alone if that's okay?" Joe asked, politely, and with a small bit of awkwardness there. I was a bit shocked that he would want to talk to me alone, since the last time we spoke it wasn't pretty at all. In fact, I threw a knife at him to scare him. So this came out of left field, and the boys coughed awkwardly and started getting up from the table. Christensen grabbed the table from being on top of me. Babe was holding the cards in his hand as they were all leaving one by one and I was giving him a look to not leave me.

"I'll let Doc and Shifty know you're okay." Babe explained to me cautiously as I was really trying to tell him with my eyes that I wanted him to stay. It wasn't that I didn't trust Joe, it was just I that I had to real strength left in me to have another talk with him that could end in a spat. But Babe shrugged his shoulders, a small look of wonder on his face since he too had no idea what was going on.

"If you make her cry, swear to God I'll slug you." Luz playfully but also at the same time threatening tone to Joe as he passed him out of the room. Joe just grinned at him, though it looked like an award smile because he knew that Luz was also telling the truth. Even Webster eyed me, asking me with my eyes if I was okay. I nodded at him, seeing him give me a small smile.

Once the three of them left the room, after Christenson propped the table against the wall, Joe finally moved into the room and I saw something in his hand that made my see him in such a different light. He was folding a tin can, a medium sized one with one rather large flower in the tin itself. It was a gerber daisy, white and looked rather pristine compared to the rest of the room that we were in that was gray and depressing. Hell, it surprised me to see him with the flower as he walked over slowly with his own unique manner and going to be next to me. He looked rather awkward standing near me, but then he pointed to the chair that was closest to me that was once used by Babe minutes beforehand.

"Can I sit?" He asked, having me slowly nod my head as he then shot himself down on the floor and then looked at the flower with his brown eyes. I was still in awe of how simple the flower was, and, in fact, how beautiful it looked in the tin can and within his dirty calloused hands.

"Got ya this, but never got the nerve to give it to ya, you know?" He asked me sheepishly as he placed it on the nightstand since there was barely any room. I helped him get it placed on the surface since it almost toppled over, and I grinned at him kindly.

"It's beautiful, Joe." I complimented him, seeing him watch me now with the small sheepish smile on his face. I wanted to know what he was going through at that moment with his thoughts since I haven't seen him look this awkward in such a long time. He had an ego, a bit of an ego really since he was never one to show any kind of vulnerability compared to the others in our Company. So this was a new and somewhat scary thing for me to see.

"How are you doin' with your stitches?" Joe asked me, trying to have a casual conversation with me as he pointed to my side where I was still wrapped up. I shrugged my shoulders.

"It could have been worse." I explained to him lightly. He eyed me how in surprise.

"How?" He asked with wonder there on his face.

"Well, according to the doctor, if the knife was still in me for another minute or so, I would have bled out and died there on the bank," I explained to him softly, though his eyes were still on me the whole time as I was explaining this to him, "Thankfully the guy the shot before he would drive the knife into me more, and apparently I have Shifty to thank…and also you."

"Me…you're thanking me?" Joe asked, having me see that I was blowing his mind from the sheer notion that I was thinking him. I nodded my head as I folded my hands on my lap on the bed.

"Malarky told me that you helped Shifty take the shot. So, if you think about it, if it wasn't for you calling that shot to Shifty, I would be dead." I finished with the explanation, seeing him look dumbfounded and out of sorts there in his chair. This had to be a real first for the both of us, finding neutral ground for once in a good couple of months. We haven't been nice to each other since we helped each other in Market Garden, and ever since we were at each other's necks and not letting go. But for him to still look out for me and make sure I was still alive, that meant a whole lot to me.

"Are you trying to thank me or somethin'?" Joe asked me in a low manner, but he was sounding more shocked than anything.

"It sure sounds like it, doesn't it?" I asked him back, sounding a bit cocky to him and he slowly smiled at me. This was the typical Joe that I remembered joking around and playing cards with, and I was glad to see him back and in front of me.

"Well, you are a friend of mine….though I have been treating you real bad lately. I'm been a bit of an…." Joe trailed off, rubbing the back of his head as he then tapped the front of his jacket pocket to find his cigarette. He almost looked like he was about to stumble just trying to find his own stick. I reached over to the nightstand where the drawer was, fishing out the cigarette pack in there and holding out for him. He eyed it as he reached over, but I beat him to the punch.

"An asshole?" I asked to finish his sentence, seeing him give me a cocky smile as he fished out the stick and placed it in between his teeth.

"I was going for the term Dick, but we can call me an asshole if you want." Joe replied with the stick in his mouth, reaching into his pants pocket and lighting the stick there. He inhaled and turned his head to the side in order to exhale and not have the smoke near to me. What a gentlemen really, and I grinned as he faced me again, inhaling the smoke and leaning back in his chair casually now.

"I can go either way: Dick or Asshole." I reminded him, seeing him smile and exhale out of the corner of his mouth.

"And I can live with that. Hell, I deserve both titles anyway from the way I was treating you." Joe replied, "I wanted to apologize to you when you came back from patrol. What I said to you was completely shitty, and really uncalled for to be fair. I'm sorry about that."

"It's fine, Joe." I tried to reason with him, but he shook his head as he tapped his shoe on the floor, and I could see this was already eating away at him.

"I'm serious. I'm not really that great when it comes to being nice to people, let alone making friends that are not as cocky as me." Joe explained to me roughly as he inhaled one more through his stick. I felt kind of bad for him, since he knew how bold and cocky he was and how he was really trying to make himself feel better since he spat at me. I rolled my eyes as I grabbed another cigarette from the pack. He was about to say something when I grabbed the lighter from his hand, flicking it open and lit the end before inhaling. Joe eyed me with his smirk still on his face.

"You supposed to smoke with a busted rib?" He asked me with cocky attitude yet I exhaled and the smoke exited through my nose.

"You gonna stop me?" I threw another question at him, seeing him just grin and shake his head. After that we chuckled there in our spots. We were back on a good note between the both of us since we were back to being cocky. I needed this since the rest of the men were far too careful with me in case I was about to break into a thousand pieces. I could tell with Joe, I wasn't going to get that, not at whole lot at least. I was only glad things were starting to feel a bit more normal.

I only hoped things were going to get better for me in the end with this whole war.


	30. Chapter 30

**March 9th, 1945**

**Sturzleberg, Germany**

"Jesus, where in the hell are they?" I muttered to myself as I was walking along the road, helmet under my arm and my neck already getting a tan from the sun over me. Since we landed in Germany, we were just slowly moving over to where we knew Hitler was, and we never even had a chance to go back into battle again. There was no ounce of battle seen, or even a threat or it. We were just moving along now, place to place, and the coldness was melting away. The sun came out to bring back some kind of optimism back in our souls and on our faces.

I was healing up with my rib though it was really feeling like pulling teeth for me to stay in bed for that long. After we left France and moved on, I was ordered to be confined to either a spacious area in the jeep where I was propped up, or on some kind of bench so that I wouldn't move too much. It took about a two weeks for me to get back on my feet, and even with me walking around it was still a pain to breathe sometimes.

However, Ron was becoming more of my bodyguard in the same way he was with Lipton back in France, making sure I wasn't moving too much or even losing my energy. I would wish constantly that he would lay off and let me breathe every once in awhile, and I thought Doc was and when he would dress my wound ever two days. Those two are going to be the death of me, I know that for certain.

Jacobs back in London was still heartbroken about what happened to Beta, but he was still keeping tabs on us and making sure that something like that would happen to the rest of his soldiers. The girls went back tot heir regular places that they were at before they came to Foye, and Artemis went back to being his runner and personal bodyguard. She was still hardened in the heart from Beta's death, and that hardened me too.

Now we were back in Germany and just trying to get through the days, I was now on a mission to find both Perconte and Luz since they were on patrol that morning and were needed back at base for the upcoming messages and protocols. I had nothing else to do that day and they were going to be working with me, so I was walking along the same road that was in their route.

My hair was short once again since Joe trimmed it for me two days prior to me going out to find two of my men. We were on good terms again with the both of us, since I was mostly sitting on my ass most days he would talk to be about his love for comic books. He was not surprised that I never touched comics, but he was still heartbroken that I never even got my feet wet with Dick Tracey or Flash Gordon. I knew enough because of Samuel's comics that he had grown up.

I was about to hit the two mile walk outside the town where we were staying in when I saw a farmhouse along the dirt road, the smaller door opened and having me hear some people inside the farmhouse. I was about to keep going when I heard someone gasp out. almost out of surprise. It made me panic, thinking that someone was being attacked and I rushed over to the farmhouse now, grabbing my rifle from being hung on my shoddier with its strap. Once I jogged over to the open door, I poked my head in and what I saw made me freeze up and almost losing my own stepping. Luz was talking to a young German girl, whom I would think lived there on the farm and Perconte was just watching from the side. I think I came in at the wrong time since the were looking at me and not saying a word, almost in surprise.

"Luz, Perconte.." I said, finally, founding my voice and seeing them eye me as well as the young German girl. She looked petrified, so I placed my rifle back on my shoulder and smiled at her with a sweet grin.

"_hallo, fräulein_." (Hello miss.) I said to her, seeing him nod at me once though she still shocked to see three Americans in her farmhouse. I felt bad though I wondered why they were in her house in the first place.

"Hello, Lieutenant," Perconte said in a hesitant manner, "We were just passing through here…"

"I can see that." I replied back smoothly and he nervously looked at Luz, who was shifting a bit in his spot next to the girl.

"We were on our way out, right Luz?" Perconte asked with a hint of suggestion in his voice, Luz nodded his head as I eyed him before looking back at the girl now with a smile on my face.

"_Es tut mir leid für die Unannehmlichkeiten_." (I'm sorry for the inconvenience.) I said to the girl, whom just smile at me since I was talking to her in her native tongue, "_Sind is zu stören Sie_?" (Are they distributing you?)

"_Ich fand sie in meinen Hof und hielt mein Huhn_!" (I found them in my fair, holding my chicken!) She explained to me, now having me eye Luz with a raised eyebrow to hear from him what was going on. It was like I caught him with his hand in the cookies jar and he was trying to find some way out of it.

"You were going to steal her chicken?" I asked him, but eyeing Perconte as well. Perconte went white in the face as Luz closed his eyes in defeat.

"Damn you for knowing German." He said in a mutter, having me look now over to Percent.

"We were just going to get the eggs, Lieutenant." He explained to me as I just smirked from the whole thing. The poor girl, having me looked back at her now and smiled at her kindly.

"_Es tut mir leid für sie. Wir werden zu lassen_." (I'm sorry for them. We're going to leave.) I explained to her calmly. She looked a bit better about it since I was now talking to her in German and there was no longer a language barrier.

"_Danke._" (Thank you). She thanked me, having me nod at her once before I looked back at the both of them who were already feeling the heat from me.

"You two, let's go." I said to them, seeing them already beeline out of there, but Luz was already waiting there for a moment as Perconte was already outside the farmhouse, wanting to avoid my eyesight.

"Give me a second to apologize, will ya Kit?" Luz asked me in hope, having me wish I could chuckle from how silly this situation was.

"Sure, though this is more amusing than anything." I joked with him, moving to go out of the farmhouse now and back out in the sun. The cool heated day was back on my face now as I saw Perconte waiting about 10 feet away from the farmhouse, helmet under his arm and he saw me walk over to him.

"Before you say anything, it was not my idea at all." Perconte started to explain to me since he could see my face was not looking too amused at the situation, "We were just looking for eggs since we were hungry—"

"And you didn't really think of going back to town and getting some there?" I asked him with amusement now, "You know we have an actual town now with real food?"

"I know I know." He replied, though before he could say anything else we heard someone walking out to us from the farmhouse. We both looked, seeing Luz walk over now with his hand on his cheek and a shocked look on his face.

"What happened to you?" I asked Luz when the three of us heard the rolling of a jeep coming our way on the dirt road in front of us. we all looked to see who was there driving the jeep, but it was the person in the passenger seat and looking rather out of it really. It was Nixon, and the look on his face was graver than I thought it was going to be since he was gone training other soldiers as a Captain. But from what I was seeing on his face, it did not go according to plan.

"That Capt. Nixon?" Luz asked as we started walking down the road towards the town we were stationed in.

"I think so." Perconte replied back.

"What in the hell's he doing in his harness?" Luz asked, having me miss that part of him as he drove past us without acknowledging us at all.

"I don't know. Maybe we've jumped into Berlin and the war is over." Peronte answered him though now he was looking at Luz, as well as myself since Luz was still grasping his cheek and still looking a bit out of it, "So, what happened? No dice with the Fraülein?"

"No dice. She smacked me in the mouth." Luz replied back in a smaller tone, "Germany's looking like it's gonna be a pretty good fraternizing territory huh?"

"Yeah. You lose your cigarettes?" Perconte and Luz kept talking for a bit as I was looking at the dust that was rising in the from the jeep that drove by. It felt like we were living in some kind of haze now, not having a clear direction as to where we were going next and what was our next objective. Hell, I had no idea myself what was going since they weren't going to say anything about me really. It was getting to be a bit of an eating feeling since we were just trying to stay busy and same. Everything felt frozen and at a standstill, compared to the months before when we were under heavy fire and trying to stay alive.

Now we were just trying to stay busy.

* * *

I had my own place to stay, which was a perk not only because I was a female, but because I was a 1st Lieutenant. It was on the third floor on one of the buildings that we took over, and mine was in the corner of the street and rather large. Someone from a big family lived there since the apartment itself was nicely furnished and plenty of rooms there with beds. It felt odd for me to be in a place like that since I didn't want to touch anything around me because it did not belong to me. After I dropped Luz and Perconte off at their drop off points, I walked back to my apartment that I was living in. Once I was on the floor I was at, I walked down to my door but I saw something sticking out of the door, having me see that it was an envelope addressed to me from home. I grabbed it from where it was sticking out and saw it was in my Uncle's writing.

Opening the door, I parked myself inside my apartment, the first room being the sitting room with a nice parlor feel to it and I walked to the couch. There was a small parlor piano there, tucked in the corner and a part of me was itching to place my fingers on the keys. Yet I was hesitant, since I doubted I could remember anything off of the top of my head to play. There was a master bedroom, where I was sleeping, a small one person bathroom and a bar tucked int he corner of the sitting room where I was now. After getting myself settled on the touch, I was opening the envelope and then the letter to have it be unfolded in front of me.

_Kit,_

_I know it has been awhile since I wrote to you, but the snow here is getting harder for me to travel around lately. But I had to write to you and let you know what happened to me: you mother and father came to visit me the other day at my house in Colorado. I know it doesn't sound real, but I was just as shocked to see them._

_Your mother basically ridiculed and scolded me for brainwashing you to becoming a killer, as if I had anything to do with you and you making your own choice sad decision to join the army. I only explained to her that I suggested the army as a way to get out of the shitty hole you were in, and she took offense to that. Honestly, your mother is a piece of work, and I still wonder who your father fell to level with her. She's a bit of tyrant, and she was convinced I forced you to sign you life away and she expected me to bring you back. As if I have any say in what you do with your life._

_I know how you think, I know far too well. When you came to me with a busted lip and bruises along your skin, I knew you were going to have to harden up to order to get by in this world. But I know this too: You're no pushover when it comes to who you are. You have a good amount of spirit within you, and that I know for a fact you got that from you father._

_I am proud of what you are doing, even if you don't even know it yourself. If I can teach you anything, it's to not let other define you, especially people like your mother. I love your mother to death, but also hate what she did to you. She tried to make you a perfect daughter, when all you wanted to do and be was free. Do not forget that, not once in your life._

_Write back and let me know how you're doing. From what your dad told me in the last letter he got from you, it's been a bit of a struggle with you and your work in the army. Nothing comes easy, but I can see you're giving it your best. That's all I ask, and I'm already beyond proud to call you my kin and my niece. I talk about you all the time to the folks in town, you're becoming a bit of a town hero now with the people._

_Love you,_

_Uncle Jack._

I looked up from the paper, thinking about what was there on the paper and sighing defeat. Even with me gone, I was still the topic on my mother's tongue and how she was trying to blame anyone else for what she technically did to me. It was sickening that she was blaming my Uncle though he was the one who suggested the army to me. I knew I was the one who mad the choice since I was an adult at the time and I had no other way out of the hell I was in. At the time, whoever, I had no clue of the turmoil that I was going to have to get through and survive because of that fact that I was going to be a trained killer. Still, it was better than going back. It made me think.

What was going to happen to me when this was all over?

Was I going to go back home, back to my family and back to my mother? My parents still had no idea what happened to me, and my brothers were not living there anymore. So I would be stuck with them and it would be me being brainwashed all over again. I would rather live on my own than go back, even with my father who was more of a parent to me than my mother ever was. But then again, me trying to get back to civilian life, that was going to be hard enough as it was. I already had enough nightmares to last me decades and beyond. Why was I thinking this far ahead? I had to think of the present and what I was doing now, still with Easy Company and still being their 1st Lieutenant.

There was a knock at the door, having me fold the letter again and place it in my jacket pocket before walking over to the door and opening it. On the other side was Ron, in which my stomach gave a small summersault since he was there in front of my room with his kind smile that he would always use on me. He was hiding something behind his back as if it was some kind of surprise. But just seeing him there in front of me was enough to make this day better and already forget the letter that I just read.

"Hey you." He said to me with the kindness in his tone. I grinned back.

"Hello to you too." I replied.

"I was wondering where you wandered off to since you left early after breakfast this morning." Ron explained as we stood there in the doorway, not moving from being this close to one another.

"I had to go get Luz and Perconte since they were needed on a patrol run," I explained as I eyed him, the smile never leaving his face, "Plus I got a letter from home that kind of threw me for a loop."

"Let me guess…your mother?" Ron asked, having me shake my head. He knew about my mother and her distaste for me being in the army, and since I already explained to him how she tried to get me out of the army once already, I could tell Ron was not liking my mother.

"My Uncle actually. He was telling me all that is happening back in the states." I explained, seeing him nod with the smile back on since it faltered after he mentioned my mother. I then looked at the arm that was hiding something, having me raise an eyebrow at him now and wonder what he was doing and why he was doing it with me.

"What's with the face, Captain?" I asked him carefully, seeing him slowly move his hand from being behind him and holding something out in front of himself and between us. It was a bottle of wine in which I started smiling from the small yet great gesture as he shrugged his shoulders.

"I figured we both would need a drink after moving around plenty of times. Besides, I would rather have a drink with you than with anyone else, especially Nixon." I giggled at his joke about Nixon, in which I nodded my head and he laced our fingers together with his spare hand.

Once again, we were trying to make it simple.

* * *

"The cooperative for America Remittance to Europe food care had begun to assemble food packs to assist those European families in dire need. Presumably all of them. So notes to your family reminding them to donate whatever they can be much appreciated." I was sitting on top of the jeep behind Nixon as he was saying this to the men while he was reading off his clipboard. He was sentenced to American news reporting to Easy was they rest of them were sitting in the square, both looking uninterested or bored with the day in front of them, with the sun beating down on us and the warmth coming through the area since we were so used to the cold the past few months. I was there in support of Nixon yet as of late he hasn't been himself really. I didn't know why, and he wasn't going to talk about anytime soon. That was his right really.

"I'm sure that you'll all be happy to know Oklahoma is still playing on Broadway." Nixon read on as some of the men grinned from the news. Hell, even Luz smiled wide with the cigarette in his mouth.

"Hey!" he said as he took the stick out and leaned his head back and opening his mouth, "Ooooooklahoma where the winds come sweepin' down the plain!" The rest of the meant join in and Nixon grinned from his spot, even waving his pencil around with the tune as the men sang on. I couldn't help but grin as they all looked rather enjoyable with what was happening around them.

"And the wavin' wheat can sure smell sweet, when the wind comes—" Luz cut off the rest of the men just in time for one of the replacements to continue on with the song.

"—right behind the rain!" AS soon as he sang it, the others started laughing and he looked beyond embarrassed. I just smiled from the antic as Christenson spoke up.

"O'Keefe, are you sitting on your bayonet? Why don't you leave the singing to Luz?" Christenson questioned him with the big grin on his face.

"Yeah, unless you wanna do like 'Surrey With the Fringe on Top'. O'Keefe." Luz commented and the others were still laughing. I propped up one leg on the jeep that I was sitting on as Nixon kept reading the news off on his clipboard.

"Awww, Rita Hayworth's getting married." He said to the men in almost a dreading manner, having me see the rest of the men groan as well.

"Oh, Rita. Say it isn't true." Luz said in almost a moan of defeat. Someone was walking up over to me now and I looked to see it was another private, giving me a salute and I saluted him back.

"Telegram from England, ma'am." He said to me as he handed me the paper. I took it from him and smiled.

"Thank you." I thanked him as he saluted me once more before walking off. I looked down at the telegram as Nixon was reading off from the clipboard again.

"Wartime News: Resistance in Ruhr's crumbling. It looks like there might be a breakout in Remagen. Apparently the Krauts forgot to blow up one of their bridges when they headed back over the Rhine. I guess the boys in the 17th Airborne did okay, after all." He said aloud to the boys as I read the telegram on the paper in front of me:

_Lieutenant Kit. Stop._

_I have been promoted to Major. Stop._

_There is talk of a promotion for you to Captain. Stop._

_Sinks wants to meet with you personally. Stop._

_All is well with Wolf Company. Stop._

_Keep up the good work. Stop._

_Major Jacobs of Wolf Company. Stop._

He wanted me to get a promotion? What did that even mean at all? I would be a Captain, his old job. It didn't make sense since I didn't like I should get one in the first place. What did that mean for me? The first female in army history to have a Captain title. This could either be a huge blessing or a huge curse. I had to talk to someone about it.

I had to talk to Winters about it.

* * *

"Enter." After I knocked on the door, I opened in and peered inside to see who was in there. Winters was behind the desk he made for himself. It was, in fact, an office, not like before when he was either in an attic or made an office for himself out of an empty bedroom. I closed the door behind me and walked over to stand in front of the desk, placing my hands behind me and he eyed me from his spot at the desk.

"Lieutenant Kit, what can I help you with?" He asked me casually now as he folded his hands on the desk in front of him.

"Sir, I received a telegram from Major Jacobs about a promotion for me." I started to explain to him, but now he cut me off.

"In which I agreed to the promotion." I was floored from what he told me, talking about it like it was nothing in the conversation yet it was still crazy for me to drink in.

"You agreed to it?" I asked carefully, and from the look in his eyes, he was surprised at how I was taking this news.

"Of course, Lieutenant. He wrote to me in the thoughts of promotion you and he wanted my opinion on the matter. I was more than happy to tell him what I thought about you and your work with the men." He explained as he got up from his spot at his desk and walked over to stand next to me in front of his desk. I could see he was telling the truth since I doubted he would pull my leg with someone like this. He never lied to me, not once since I was transferred to his company.

"You think I should be Captain, really think I should be Captain?" I asked him unconvinced.

"You doubting yourself, Lieutenant?" He countered back with me. Drew out a shaky breath as I tried to wrap my head around it.

"If I get this promotion, I'll be the first female to be a captain," I stated, seeing him unmoved by the thought, "And that could raise a few eyebrows with the other officers, don't you think?"

"I would hope it did, because that would mean the other officers would have to re-evaluate their own work ethics in comparison to yours," Winters answered me boldly now with him leaning back on the table and folding his arms in front of himself, "There have been plenty of times where you came in and help prevent plenty of lives from being lost in the Company. That deserves a promotion, along with your hard work and dedication to Easy."

"I have only done what I thought was necessary." I countered with him, seeing him pause and analyze me with his eyes.

"Do you ever take compliments nicely and without any kind of hesitance?" He asked em with a small smile on his lips, it made me smile back at him since I knew what he was doing. He was trying to call me out on how I hated taking things that were positive and more like things that were negative.

"Not really sir." I simply replied and I was hearing him chuckle for once in our conversation and I grinned at him.

"Well, take this one: you deserve this promotion. I wouldn't have picked a better soldier to have this role than you." Winters explained to me now with his sincere smile on his face. It would change the whole hindsight of me now, my own reputation was going to either skyrocket or plummet because of this.

"Sir, may I speak frankly?" I asked him out of the blue. Something was eating away from ever since I came into that office to meet Winters.

"Sure you can." He replied with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Sir, to be frank about this promotion, I know that this is going to be change a lot of things around here in the army," I started to explain to him calmly, "Wolf Company was already looked down upon for being the first all female Company in the army, and it has raised a lot of questions, both good and bad. I was even skeptical when I was transferred to your company, because I was not sure if you and your men were going to accept a sole female into Easy without prejudice or judgment, sir." Winters was quiet the whole time when I was saying this, having me kind of glad that he wasn't going to cut in at any point with this sort of speech that I was spewing at him.

"But I was willing to do whatever it took for Easy because your men treating me with respect and with hospitality, something that I did not expect at all from an all male company. Your men, including yourself, took me in as one of your own, and that does mean a good amount to me." Sure, it sounded like I was spilling my feelings to him in how I felt about the men and how they were treating me in the Company since day one. He had to know why I was always placing my own neck on the line for the men, who I was willing to risk my own life for those boys in Easy. Since they saw me as another member of Easy, another good asset to the team, and not a burden.

"Kit, you are a great soldier, and a key component of this Company. I am personally thankful for your service to the men, and I know the others in Easy feel the same way." He said to me simply, and I knew he meant more than what he said to me since it was such a simple sentence. I felt like I had to say something more to him, but nothing else came out as the door opened and we both looked. It was Ron, looking shocked a little bit to see me there with Winters and then he finally came in after almost faltering there at the doorway.

"Good to see you Captain. Have you heard the news about Lieutenant Kit here?" Winters asked non challantly as he moved away from me and back to the other side of the desk where the office drawers were. I felt a bit under the radar once again as Ron eyed me with a small smile on his lips. It was already taboo for the both of us to be in some kind of relationship already in the war since we both could be in trouble and be sent home without a second thought to it.

"What news, Major?" Ron asked to Winters though his eyes were on me now and silently asking me what was going on. I just grinned at him when Winters answered.

"She's not going to be a Lieutenant any longer. Kit here is getting a promotion." Winters explained as Ron looked more surprised than anything. He flashed me a smile, yet it was aimed at me mostly he was showing that smile to the both of us now. I could feel the warmth flowing through me once again because of that damn smile of his.

"Congratulations Kit." He thanked me wholeheartedly. Now I could see it in his eyes that he wanted to celebrate it with me later when we were alone. Such a silly thing to think about within that moment.

"Thank you, Captain Spiers." I thanked him with the smile there on my face. Spiers kept his eyes on me for another moment or two before he focused back on Winters now as he walked over to stand with him next to the file drawers.

"I came to talk to you about the patrols that just happened," Ron explained to him calmly now as I watched from my spot on the other side of the desk. At that moment, since they were having another regular conversation about the war, I felt the heaviness of the letter that I just read mere hours ago in my apartment, and it was weighing on me then. I remember what my Uncle told me: to lot let others define me and who I am in their eyes. I was now a Captain now in the army, the first as a woman. Would my Uncle be proud of what I was doing, trying to move on with my past and find something else that was better for my future?

"Come with us, point it on to me on the map," Winters said to him as he was walking away from his desk to another door that was leading to another office that he made into the typing area to send out letters and upkeep. I followed the both of them now since I figured being a Captain there with Easy was going to entail me listening in with all the new plans and strategies. We left his office, another soldier was already typing away at one of the typewriters as a large map was on the wall near more file cabinets. The two of them went to the map as I stayed close enough to see where they were pointing. Ron pointed out a small part with his finger, having me watch with my eyes carefully.

"Neither patrol found a single Kraut and they're not here either." Ron explained to Winters as I was brought back to the present.

"They'll be across the river by now. Let's send out a night patrol. Check out the embankment on the far side." Winters instructed him, but he was cut off with two short knocks at the door. We all looked, including the soldier at the typewriter as the door opened and Nixon walked in with a solemn look on his face. We all watched as he took a shaky breath before saying two words that dropped the atmosphere dramatically.

"President's dead."

* * *

"Captain Kit, has a nice ring to it, don't you think?" Ron asked me as I was taking another drink from the glass of wine that he poured for me. We both were sitting in my apartment, the both of us after we had a rousing couple of rounds of poker with the other NCO's like Harry and Lipton, yet Nixon halfway through the game walked off and left his money there on the table. After we played a few more rounds, Ron and I turned in and so did the others since it was going to be the wee hours of the morning. The next day we were going to be moved to another town, so that night we decided to have our own moment together just the two of us.

"Still not used to it." I replied back to him as he crooked a smile at me with his wine in his hand. He took a drink from it as I was still of that promotion that was just thrown at me out of nowhere.

"You're not happy with it?" He asked since he could see on my face I looked more troubled than happy.

"I am happy, just feeling out place about it to be honest," I confessed to him as he poured some wine into our glasses as I went on, "I told Winters how this was going to look with me and Wolf Company. We were already getting a reputation since before we even came to Normandy, but now I doubt a lot of guys are going to like having a female Captain around."

"You deserve it, Kit." Ron reassured me gently as I grabbed the one glass from my spot at the table. I nodded in agreement, trying to get over myself really with how I was dealing with it and how I was trying to accept it more than shooting it to hell like I would it in the past.

"I do deserve it." I repeated, smile slightly and then taking a small drink from the glass and then thinking about the letter again that I got from my Uncle. Ron eyed me, seeing that I was in deep thought and he reached over to grab my hand that was holding the wine bottle.

"What is it?" He asked me, having me reach in with my spare hand and grab the letter that I still had on me in my jacket pocket. I unfolded it with my hand, Ron watching me with confusing eyes as I placed the letter on the table between the both of us now. He watched me do this and he didn't move at all.

"I got this from my Uncle." I explained to him, seeing him release my hand that he was holding so gently and then carefully reach down to take the letter. As soon as he touched it, I moved up from the table as he read it with his eyes. Moving over to the window, I opened it slightly and I heard the fallen rain onto the pebbled street below us.

"Jesus." Ron muttered out loud, yet I said nothing as he finished and stayed still from what I heard. I could hear the letter falling back onto the table and Ron shifting in his chair.

"Thankfully, my Uncle knows how to handle her when I can't do it myself." I voiced out to him as I was still looking out the window at the darkness that engulfing the whole town, yet the rain was making it more soothing than ever. The springtime there in Germany was less cold and warmer. It was no Bastogne or Foye, that's for sure.

"Your Uncle seems like a good guy," Ron commented to me, having me smile from my spot near the window.

"He's an okay guy really, a bit on the rough side. I think that rubbed off on me." I said in almost a joking manner, hearing him walk over behind me and then placed his hands carefully on my waist. I froze up them, somehow finding my hands on the windowsill now and holding myself there and not letting go. For some reason, feeling him press close to me from behind me and his hands there on my waist, it made me remember….and not in the best way.

_"You think you can get away with that smart mouth of yours?"_

"Shit." I muttered, hearing Gerald's voice in my head and Ron instantly moved away from me. The way I say it, it sounded like he burned me from him just trying to hold me in a way that a boyfriend would and without any pain there. I cringed, feeling bad about that and how I made Ron move away from me, but it was a constant filling reminder of what happened to me.

"I'm sorry." He apologized to me as I hung my head, no longer feeling him close to me anymore since he felt like he pushed it with me. I shook my head there in front of the window and I sighed in defeat.

"This is why I left my home because I'm still…still remembering." I said in almost a painful way now. Ron said nothing though I would think he was looking at me in pain now since he already knew what happened to me. He was still not feeling great about it as if it affected him more that it did with me.

"You wanted to forget?" He asked me, not clearly getting what I was saying to him.

"I wanted to try to, yes," I replied in almost a mourning tone since it was still something I was battling, "Just getting away from Seattle wasn't enough for me. I joined the army to try and change myself from not being a pathetic victim."

"None of us saw you as that." Ron reminded me with a bit more boldness in his tone now. I heard him take one step towards me now, slowly and carefully on the hardwood floor.

"But I did." I muttered through my teeth and I tried to find my breath again. This was not how I wanted our night together to be like. All I wanted was a nice evening with a drink of wine and being able to talk to Ron like we used to, not be haunted by someone who was no longer in my life. Once again, Ron placed both of his hands on my lower arms, hear my hands with such a gentleness it almost like a feather touch. I stayed still, seeing his hands on my wrists and he wasn't grasping me though. He was just resting his hands there and pressing against me without any kind of force there.

"I honestly wish I can take what he did to you away from you. Because what he did was unforgivable," Ron said to me against my hair yet it wasn't chilling but mostly soothing now. I was no longer hearing Gerald or seeing him in my head. It was just Ron now as I moved my hands to have them facing up and lace our fingers together on the windowsill, "And I understand if you want this to be slow…since it can be too much for you."

"No." I said, shaking my head and maneuvering myself to turn and face him now. I placed his hands back on my waist again, and although I was wearing my white shirt and combat jacket, I could feel his fingers on my skin under my material. He looked down at me with worry in his eyes as I placed my own hands around his neck. He made me feel safe, something I really needed in this war since I was mostly thinking and protecting myself. Ron was willing to give me that safety that I needed, and I had to be able to let him in.

"It's fine with you here with me, I feel better with you here." I explained to him, seeing him watch me as he was just holding me there close in his arms and my fingers were touching his neck and the hair back there.

"You sure?" He asked me, having me hear the hint of worry there in his tone as he was watching my eyes making sure this was alright. I was grateful for him for trying to make sure I was okay with how we were going to proceed with this relationship. I was worried that this was going to be too fast for me, since the last time I was held like this by someone it ended badly. But with Ron, and how we were already close enough as friends before we kissed, I could trust him really since he could read me like a book. Gerald hardly did, but with Ron, he knew me more than I gave him credit for. I had to be able to trust him with what he was willing to show me and give me.

"Positive. This is what I need, and I don't want to do anything else but be here with you." I replied back to him, seeing the small smile back on his lips now as I then grinned too. I already feeling that peace again being with him this close and not having that sickening feeling in my stomach.

"So…is it wrong to say that I really want to kiss you right now?" Ron asked me in almost a sheepish manner, but this time instead of turning away from him, I grinned wider at him.

"You want to kiss me right now? With how I look?" I asked him, unconvinced since I was still in my own combat jacket and pants and my hair looked rather messy, along with some of the tear streaks on my face. I had to admit, I did not look the least attractive at all from where I was standing with Ron. But how he was looking at me, reaching up with one hand and placing it near my cheek on my neck to maybe feel my rushing pulse there and his other hand gripping my hip gently but with possessiveness.

"Definitely." He replied, leaning down to brush my lips with his. I held it there, one of my hands in his hair and the other moving to reach towards his collar of his combat jacket and clutch it there since the butterflies in my stomach were going on overdrive. I kissed him back softly, feeling him carefully moving us away from the window and over to the left, where he gently pressed me against the wall as he kissed me more boldly now yet still holding that safeness there in his kisses with me. HIs lips were soft against my own, already making me own mind go blank and freeze up since this was still new for me, new and accelerating.

Every kiss that he gave me made my feel the happiness that I have been needing the past few months since I was buried in the cold of winter and the cold of past haunted memories. I could only return that to him, with one hand in his short brown hair and the other holding onto his jacket. His hand on my neck and the other on my hip, with my back against the wall, this was all we needed at the moment. The one moment of peace in this war, with no cold surrounding us and no death haunting us as we closed our eyes and our kisses were giving us hope again. I only hoped that I was up to par with my own kisses on him, but with how he was holding me close and kissing me back, I must have been doing something right.

"You take my breath away, Kit.' Ron murmured to me against my lips as we were just trying to breathe after those minutes of kissing that we just shared, "I don;t know how you do it."

"I could tell you the same thing, Ron." I replied back to him as I snuck in one more kiss there. We just needed this, and I needed this the most since this was something I was still working on myself. It was almost like we were acting my teenager again, and I honestly hoped that this was going to be good in the end for us. But the same question that I had earlier in my head was still there as we were kissing against the wall. After the wall was over, when we were going to be sent home, where was I going to call home?

Where was I going to go?


	31. Chapter 31

The breeze felt so nice in my hair at that point, having me grin as I opened my eyes again while we were trucking along the road that was taking us to the new town we were going to be staying in. Although we weren't seeing any soldiers coming our way or leaving when we were close enough, we were just trucking along through the long days of the sun and cool smells of the German countryside. After we left the previous town we were staying in, I heard word from Ron when he was talking to Bull and Perconte about no drop happening in Berlin and how Hitler was wanting to start a guerrilla war because invaders were coming for them left and right. Some of the boys are sore about not being able to drop in and end the war altogether, but I was just glad that we were just still moving along and not staying in one place.

These days I was just getting itchy and too skittish for my own liking. I even found time to write back to my Uncle, telling him I was glad he told off my mother and got her back to her place. It sounded harsh, I knew that, but then again she needed a good reality check. Hell, she thought I was still the pristine 20-year-old daughter that suddenly left her home with no other explanation other than I wanted to "read in school". She still had no idea, my father included in that. So how was that conversation going to happen when I got home? Let alone telling them about Ron was going to awkward enough since Ron was not having the greatest time accepting what my mother did. Maybe my father would ease her into the thought, but then again I hoped not.

I was in the jeep with Nixon, Spiers, Welsh and Lipton, having another perk of sitting with the officers of Easy and not with the other boys. They were supportive of me being Captain, Luz threatening to throw a party for me when I broke the news to them. They all liked that I was a Captain, which was the opposite of what I was thinking they were going to react. Even Joe smiled when I told him since nowadays be was no longer bitter and freer like he was before we went into the cold hell of Bastogne and France. We were getting along just fine with the two of us in our talks and conversations though now I was regretting taking the Captain Position. Mostly because I had no more time to be with the other guys in Easy and chat with them like I did before when I was just the 1st Lieutenant. Now I had to be in the meetings with the other officers and plan for the next town we were going to take over next, no more time for poker or swapping stories. I missed those times with the guys, but now I had more responsibilities to handle. One of which was being the head translator, since I was the only officer now that can speak the language although the others were Liebgott and Webster. The three of us were the ones they would go to.

After another rousing round of singing an army tune that all of the men were chanting together, I was just content with being in the jeep and trudging along on the road with the other officers in the car with me.

"You sent that parachute back home to Kitty yet?" Lipton asked Harry with a grin as we were all sitting together in the back of the jeep.

"Sent it out the other day right when we got into Germany. She's gonna love it, it's gonna make one hell of a wedding dress." Harry commented back to Lipton as he was leaning back in his own seat in the jeep.

"I'm sure it will. Send me a picture of it will ya?" Lipton asked him with his gentle tone as he looked over at me now. I was tilting my head back and enjoying the sun on my face since I have missed the sun the most for the past couple of months and feeling the heat on my hair and fingertips.

"What about you, Kit? What's your plan after all of this is over?" He asked me over the roar of the jeep. That subject was a constant haunt to me, having nowhere else to go really. Seattle was no option because I had no intention of going back to the same place where I wasn't beyond happy. Colorado was another option, but then again my mother would find me there and drag me back to Seattle to start her work on me all over again. So there was no other place for me really, and it meant that I would have to start at ground zero again.

"I don't know, maybe I can go to school since I never went there." I replied back to Lipton after thinking about it for a moment or two.

"You never went to school?" Lipton asked with a raised eyebrow and a look of crusty.

"I went to private schools, but never college. Maybe I'll enroll in college classes." I suggested with a shrug of my shoulders and I ruffled my short hair with my fingers now.

"What would you take?" Welsh asked me from his spot next to Lipton.

"Maybe history, or English. I never really thought about it a whole lot as of late." I said in almost a confession to him. The first time I told my mother I was going off to get into a college in Colorado, I only said it to get out of the house and away from her. But now I really wanted to think about what I was going to study and where I was going to go with my life. I had to find something to do after the war, since I doubted that I would stay in the army far longer after the war only to avoid going home to my parents and dealing with that can of worms.

"You got a whole lot of time to think about it," Welsh commented to me with a grin as he watched me with his careful eyes, "You're young, I bet you'll think of something."

"Young compared to you?" I asked in a sly tone, hearing him chuckle as I closed my eyes again and tried to think about my future in front of me. For s split second, Ron came into my head and that made me think about it even more. Were we going to stay together after the war? Was that even a possibility? I had to figure that whole thing out and get int straightened out. A part of me wanted to believe that we would stay together after the war, but then again the other part of me was not convinced of that whole notion of us being together for the rest of our lives. Ever since I left for the army that kind of life, with another man, seemed out of reach and not even remotely close to happiness for me. Happiness for me was for me to be free.

So what was the future going to hold for me?

* * *

We were busting into the apartments of German Civilians in our new town that we were in staying, and I happened to be leading a couple of the men in taking out the families and sending them packing. It was something that I was dreading, but as a Captain now, I had no real choice in the matter.

I had Malarky, Luz, Shifty, Garcia, Webster and Talbert with me, Webster and I being the translators that were yelling out the orders to the civilians and families to take a suitcase and leave within minutes. I walked in with one family that was eating dinner, three of my men were being me with rifles out as I started talked to them fast.

_"Sie haben fünf Minuten, um Ihr Haus zu verlassen_." (You have five minutes to leave your house.) I said to the family there as the rest of my men were going through the house with rifles out and ready for anything that were to happen to us. The family was in hysterics as the father was telling me that they were not Nazi's and they were kind. He was talking to me in such a frantic state as the mother was crying and ushering the children out of the room before it would get worse.

_"Wir haben nichts falsch machen!_" (We didn't do anything wrong!) The father argued with me as I shook my head at him and held my head up at him.

_"Fünf Minuten_!" (Five minutes!) I commanded him, and he was about to say something else to me as I walked away, but Webster stopped him and barked more orders at him now. I moved to the kitchen area where Talbert was.

"Clear, Captain." he said to me as I moved from room to room, seeing that it was all cleared. It was mostly surreal, to take over the home that a family was staying in mere minutes before we interrupted their lives and kicked them out. They were trying to live their lives now and who were we to come in and shift it al around? it made a bad knot in my stomach and it hurt like hell though we had to do and get all of those families out on the street since they had nowhere else to go.

_"Sir Abschaum! Was haben wir gemacht!_" (You scum! What have we done!) A male yelled at me as he stalked by me with his family and was escorted by Johnny Martin. I said nothing as he glared at me, though he kept going as Johnny was pushing him along. We were getting them all out, apartment by apartment and it was getting less crowded with all the bodies in the hallway now. After another good 20 minutes, we had the whole apartment complex to ourselves now and the men were picking a room.

_"Loslegen!"_ (Get going!) I heard Joe telling another tenant and his family as they shuffled out of their room and down the hallway. He sounded harsh, but then again we weren't supposed to be nice to the people there as he looked over at me now. Ron was about two apartments down and telling urethras to get them out, but Joe looked over at me now with the same look of determination on his face. we made eyes with each other, and I saw him nod at me once before he went off to go to the next apartment. I wonder why he did that, but then again, we were going good in our own relationship and there was nothing really rubbing us the wrong way. The only thing that was rubbing me the wrong way was kicking these people out of their homes.

That sucked.

* * *

Once again, I had my own room to sleep and live in. And once again, I was in one of the most lavished apartments there was in the complex. The Captains got the singles living quarters, and the rest of the men were going to either double or triple in the family living areas. Mine was right next to the stairs case on the second floor, this apartment previously belonged to the landlord. Of course I would be the one to get this room, Ron was stationed on the first floor with the soldiers there: O'Keefe, Christenson, Talbert, Malarky, and others. On my floor, I had Joe, Webster, Luz, Babe, Shifty, Sisk, Doc, Bull, and a couple of others as well. That night, since it was far too early and we were once again bored already with our rooms. I invited some of the guys over to my apartment where they were all sitting around with some of the liquor that they got their hands on in their own apartments. Although Doc wasn't drinking as much as the rest of the guys, they were all enjoying themselves none the less.

"Come on, Sisk, give me your worst." Luz challenged him as I was sitting with the group of them in the sitting room, a fire already going and we were all swapping stories with one another from when we were back at home. I was mostly listening since I knew that most of my stories weren't going to be as great as theirs from my own previous life.

"Okay okay," Sisk said in a light manner as he was sitting next to Bull and Shifty in one of the bigger couches, "There was that one time, back at Toccoa when I got caught by the military police with my girlfriend. We were making out by the train tracks, and we got in trouble real good."

"You serious?" Bull asked in an amused manner, with the rest of the men around him chuckling.

"I was taken over to Sobel, and man was he sore. He asked me what I was doing there with my girlfriend, and I gave him the best answer." Sisk went on before he took a long drink from the bottle he was holding. I was leaning back in my own chair and waiting for hear the quote be was about to give. It made me smile when he said the next sentence with such boldness, that it was such a contrast to his own personality.

"The train was coming, she was coming, and so was I." He said in with the smirk on his face, and the whole room was in an uproar of laughter. Even Joe was laughing from the quote himself, leaning back in his seat next to Luz and his eyes were on the brink of tears from laughing so hard. We were needing something like this: to be able to let go and be free from all that was happening around us. I was glad I wasn't in some other meeting with the other officers, this was much better. Having a drink or two with the men and just laughing with each other. Something about this mood with each other in a nice apartment, food in our stomachs and laughter upon our lips, that made me think we were in a different time. Not in the time of war, but in a time of just being around friends and having nothing to fear or worry about. I never had this growing up since most of the friends I had were picked for me because of my mother and whom she thought were the best of friends for me.

How she would be livid now to see the friends such as these: rowdy, colorful language, and most of all, men.

"Say fellas, let's raise a toast to the Captain here." Luz said in a cheerful manner, having me watch as see them all holding their own bottles and glasses up a bit in the air, all for me. I was merely a Captain, someone who was trying to survive every day when I woke up to when I went asleep, from all that happened to me in the past. It didn't make sense to me really, but I said nothing as Luz looked at me directly in the eye.

"To Captain Kit, one of the greatest soldiers and friend that a bunch of assholes could ever have," Luz said in such a bold fashion. I watched every single person in the room: Webster, Babe, Joe, Luz, Bull, Sisk, Shifty, and Doc as they raised what they were drinking in their hand. Doc didn't have one in his hand, but he smiled none the less while he was sitting next to Babe. At this point in the war, I had to once again remind myself that I would have to take compliments more with grace then fight it. But it was another kind of thing to see a room full of men showing me respect and giving me a toast. When I once again locked eyes with Joe, he winked at me with the sincere smile on his face.

"Here here." The rest of the men joined in as I held my own drink in my hand. Once they were drinking down their own drinks with happiness on their faces, I raised my own drink to them now.

"You guys are very much the best of friends that any girl could ask for, and I thank you." I said to them all with a smile on my lips. And it was true though they were all different yet beyond kind to me as soon as I came into their lives back at Fort Benning. I considered them all my family, my new family that I wouldn't dare to leave, nor let them get hurt. Even though it felt like we were on the downhill with this war, something could still happen to us, and who was I to stand in the way of that?

I was in it for the long hall.

* * *

Long after I sent the boys back to their apartments to get some shut eye, I myself had no real reason to go to bed since my own head was still wired from either the wine or the good conversation. That night I just decided to have my own time, no one around me to talk or bug me.

In the sitting room, tucked near the fireplace that was darkly lit, was once again another small parlor piano. It brought back memories for me as a little girl, playing the piano for hours and hours on end with my mother constantly reminding me that this is a good thing to know for my future, whatever in the hell that meant. So as I placed my fingers on the keys in front of me and I tried to remember one song that I knew from plenty and plenty of practice and repeating it over and over. I knew the perfect song since it was so simple and yet it soothed me:

Nocturne in C-Sharp Minor

I started playing the peace softly with finger going through each key and my eyes closing. I was instantly drawn back to when I was a little girl, maybe 8 or 9 when I learned this piece, and I was sitting straight at the piano in the drawing-room at my home. My mother was watching me from afar with a proud look on her face as I tried to make the piece sound so pleasant for her.

_"Keep your back straight dear, it'll keep your balance." My mother said to me in almost a loving tone to be though it was still stern to me. I moved my back a bit to make it better for her, but then I heard footsteps behind me. The sounded heavier than my mother's would and I grinned when I heard my father speak up behind me._

_"I like it when you slouch, peanut. It makes you look more like a silly little girl, just like how I like you." He whispered to me, then tickling my sides and having me giggle. The sound of the both of us giggling in the drawing room and my mother trying to scold us for what we were doing and how it was undignified. But I loved that moment with my father since it was one of the best immerse that I was going to hold onto for the rest of my life._

I opened my eyes again, hearing the door behind me open softly and close within a moment. Heavy footsteps were on the hardwood floor now as I kept playing the piece without thinking twice. I felt more at ease with myself there on the piece and not scared of who was coming into my room now without me giving them permission. But for some reason, I knew who it was since they were walking so slowly and with a sense of peace within this steps.

"I didn't know you played so well." It was Ron, having me smile in front of the piano that I was playing and not being bale to forget any part of the music.

"Years of practice, thanks to my mother," I said to him over my shoulder as I still kept my eyes not he pain keys, "Though this is my favorite piece."

"Why?" Ron asked as he walked over to stand next to me, but stayed still as he was watching now, "It sounds….a bit sad don't you think?"

"I think it sounds more haunting," I answered back to him, "To me, it sounded haunting and soothing at the same time. This was the one piece that drove her crazy, because she chose pieces that were more pleasant and flirty, almost needing to be more appealing for boys to hear and fall in love with me. But with this piece, it's realer."

"Real?" Ron asked as he slowly sunk to sit on the piano bench next to me.

"I guess, it remained me more of the summertime when I would play with my father under the sun." I explained some more as the piece was still being heard in the room, "He liked it when I played this piece, hell he liked it when I played any piece that wasn't plastered with my mother's approval all over it." Ron smiled from the corner of my eye as I was moving along the key with my fingers and keep my eyes off of him since I knew I would be frozen if we locked eyes.

"Maybe you can teach me how to play." Ron suggested in a light manner, having me chuckle as I was wrapping up the song and then looking over at him now, finally. He hair looked tossed a bit, since he was trying to sleep but it never really happened, and there was stubble on his jawline along with the look in his eye that he was having a good night himself.

"I'll teach you when you get me my cheeseburger on our date, deal?" I asked him, the both of us looking at each other and grinning from ear to ear as the musical piece was over now, having me just rest my hands in my lap now and Ron reaching over to lace our fingers together and keep us connected.

"Deal."

* * *

"I'm telling you, Kit, Virginia is nice this time of year." Shifty said to me with a grin as we were sitting together in another jeep, going to another town and having another set of patrol thrown at us now. We were along some kind of highway, and along the middle of the highway that was seen was the large mass of German troops and battalions that surrendered and were walking back to their own HQ's. They were marching as if they were in unison, not even close to looking like they were in defeat, which left a sour note in some of our throats as we were driving alongside them.

"All there is in Virginia is hunting, Shifty, and you know it." I joked with him as he looked at me with a fake shocked look. I was choosing to sit with Shifty then, no longer wanting to sit with the officers because I have missed my best friend too damn much. I knew he was happy for me getting the promotion, but then again I knew he too was missing my company with him.

"That is not true. Let me guess, all there is to Seattle is rain!" He countered back to me with a smirk, having me stick my tongue out at him, "It's beautiful now there. Everything is green, plenty of forests to go on for miles, and no real big city to get lost in."

"Such a mountain man you are." I poked fun at him as we were sitting shoulder to shoulder now. I His hair was flowing in the wind now as we were trucking along the highway with the other jeeps that were around us.

"Better than Seattle that is wet all the time, you ever think of going back?" He asked me with wonder.

"Not really, it doesn't sound too appealing to head back there at the moment." I replied, seeing him think to himself for another moment to two before he spoke up to me.

"Why don't you travel?" I raised my eyebrow at him from the thought since that generally came to my mind when I was thinking of what I was going to do after the war was over and done with.

"Travel? You think?" Yea asked me.

"Why not? You've only been to Seattle and Colorado. You can come visit me in Virginia and may be Doc in Louisiana. You don't like to sit still anyway." Shifty explained to me with a lightness of his tone. I thought about it, to travel around America for a bit and not be tied down to one spot. It sounded like something that I needed, since being stuck at my house and with my family almost sounded like a death sentence for me. Shifty was right: I was not good at sitting still for far too long and I needed to find a way to get better. So traveling did sound appealing.

"And hey, if you ever need a place to stay, come to my place in Virginia." Shifty suggested to me casually, having me smile widely at him.

"You mean it?" I asked, seeing him nod his head.

"Sure, I wouldn't turn down my best friend now would I?" he asked me in a grin to me, shoving me with his shoulder and I grinned back at him. I always had a soft spot for Shifty since the moment we met in Fort Benning and he was somewhat forced to have a sniper challenge with me. We saw each other as not only good snipers, but great friends with big hearts. He showed me the true meaning of kindness to others since no one had to real and bone to pick with him.

"I would love to take you up on that offer." I said to him, feeling our boots touch one another from the bumpy ride that we were on with the jeep, but then we were interrupted by Webster, who was in the jeep behind us, getting up to stand in the back with one hand on the overhead bar and he was yelling at the Germans that were still walking by us. We just watched him in his rage.

"Hey you! Hey! You! That's right! You stupid Kraut bastards! That's right! Say hello to Ford! And General Fucking Motors! You stupid fascist pigs! Look at you! You have horses! What were you thinking?!" It was like seeing a train wreck in front of me and I could do nothing to stop it since I was in the separate jeep. It was like he was voicing what we all wanted to say at that moment, but he was the one to have the balls to say it. However, I never saw Webster being the one to say it in such a way since he was timider compared to the others.

"Dragging our asses half way around the world. Interrupting our lives. For what?! You ignorant servile scum! What the fuck are we doing here?!" He screamed out the real question on all of our minds. We had to battle agenda in front of us, we had no real reason to be traveling around anymore unless it was to get any Germans we could find and send them packing. it didn't make sense, not to most of us anyways. I could feel Shifty laced our fingers together as we watched Webster collapse back in his spot in the jeep. I looked back at Shifty to make some sense of the whole thing though his faced looked just as torn up and confused as mine was. I sighed, closed my eyes and dreading where we were and how we were doing in this situation. Shifty leaned into me, out head touching barely and we just sat in silence now. When was this going to be over? Why were we there in the first place? I wondered that as we were going into the new town that would eventually tear us emotionally to pieces.

Landsburg

* * *

"You sure she's good being that far ahead?" I heard Perconte asked me from behind me as I was walking along the forest terrain, rifle out in front of me now as I was scanning the area with my eyes. We were sent to be on a patrol near the outskirts of the town we were in at the moment. I was taking a couple of my men on patrol, including O'Keefe, Luz, Bull, Christenson, and Perconte. This was not the same as being back in the freezing snow, it felt warmer here and more at peace since we weren't looking for trouble. Just going on another round of patrol.

I was wearing my black combat uniform now and my hair was still out and my bangs were pulled to the side. The rest of the men were about 30 feet behind me now as I looked left and right, hearing and seeing nothing really that would raise an eye to someone.

"She's fine, Perconte. Since when would you doubt the safety of our Captain?" Bull asked with a hint of a joke on his lips. It made me grin and look over my shoulder at him. He winked me at me with his cigar in his mouth. I winked back at him as I kept on walking ahead of the men, hearing the rustling of the trees above me and the clouds floating in the sky above me when I peered up. It was blue, simple blue sky that made me feel the safeness of this place.

"O'Keefe."

"Sarge!" O'Keefe yelped out behind me.

"Why the hell are you so jumpy boy?" Bull asked behind me as I could see something ahead of us, through the thick trees. It was an open space, maybe a plain area, but something else didn't feel right about the area now since I saw the blur of something else though the trees….almost gray.

"I'm not jumpy, I'm fine."

"Shit, I can hear your heart pounding in Arkansas, Boy." Bull went on with his taunting.

"Jesus, Christ, give the kid a break, Bull." Christensen piped up.

"Hey, George." Perconte spoke up from his spot ahead of the others.

"Yeah?" Luz asked.

"Kinda reminds you of Bastonge?" He asked as we were getting closer to what I was seeing and making me look in confusion. There was an open range there, but the shade of gray was becoming more and more clear as I was seeing what looked to be wooden buildings coming ahead in the plain, though they didn't look too good to be buildings. I slowed in my walk, my eyes fixed on whatever was there in front of us and wondering what I was seeing. The others behind me, on the other hand, were still talking to each other.

"Yeah, now that you mention it. Except, of course, there's no snow, we got war grub in our bellies and the trees aren't fucking exploding from Kraut artillery, but yeah, Frank, other than that it;s a lot of Bastogne." Luz commented sarcastically, yet this time I was not going to react to it.

"Right." Perconte did not get the sarcasm clearly.

"Bull, smack him for me, please?" Luz asked though now I heard a helmet being smack and Perconte cursing under his breath.

"Thank, you." Luz thanked him as we were itching closer to the edge of the forest, close to whatever I was looking at. I stopped at the edge of the forest now, holding my hand up for them stop. The others right behind me stopped as I was frozen in my spot from what I was seeing, my rifle almost falling to the floor and my voice was no longer there. This cannot be real, what in the hell was it in the first place? I saw a fence, barb-wired fence and the wooden buildings on the inside. They looked more like shakes, which made me wonder what it was that I was looking at. But what I saw that made my blood go cold and made me go into shock, as the other joined me on the edge of the forest, was the sight of people there within the fencing and they were watching us now.

But they didn't look like normal people.

They wore gray prison clothes, head shaved and they looked like they could collapse and die at any moment since they looked so skinny and almost like death. I had no idea humans could look like that at all. It felt like we were in some kind of taboo dream, the line of us soldiers along the frost trees seeing this scene in front of us. None of os moved, nor did we say a single word now since this was far too much to drink in. I slowly moved my rifle to have it hang off my shoulder again, thinking the worst. Were they prisoners? Were they held it against their will? Why did they look like that?

"What in the hell is that?" Bull asked in a low tone, almost scared as I took another step towards the place, the prison is what it looked like, and I said nothing. But seeing those faces and how they were watching us like we were some kind of saviors. Their eyes were far too big now, seeing us there and I thought they needed help. Without even thinking, since the last thing I wanted to do was wait there and do nothing, I started to run over to the run and I bolted within seconds.

"Kit! What up!" Luz called out behind me as I was running, arms pumping and the look of determination on my face now. They were running after me and I was just running to get over to those poor people, who all looked like they haven't eaten in days and were on the verge of breaking into pieces from just standing there against the fence. I reached them within seconds, standing in front of the fence and the others catching up with me now as we were watching them, and they were watching us. What was I going to say to them? What in the hell was this?

_"Sind Sie ein Soldat?"_ (Are you a soldier?) One of them asked me in a wavy tone, having me see the others in my patrol look to me now since I was the sole translator for this group.

_"Wir sind Amerikaner._" (We're Americans.) I replied to him, seeing some of the men that were in front of us and behind the fence almost mourn from the news. One of them reached out to me now, his fingers sprawled out in the air like he was trying to grasp for the air itself. I reached out slowly to touch his hand since I would think he would need some kind of comfort. It still didn't make sense, how they all looked more like animals waiting to be slaughtered than anything.

"Kit, be careful." Christenson said to me in a warning, but I laced my fingers with the man's fingers. I gasped out, feeling every bone in his hand and how it felt like I was holding a bag of bones than a hand itself. I analyzed his hand now, seeing how fragile he looked and pale compared to us, almost gray.

"He's malnourished, they all are." I said in almost a broken manner, realizing that this was not good at all. I didn't know what happened to them, but I knew I had to do something, "Something happened here."

"Christ." Christenson muttered in pain. I turned my head a bit to have it direct to Perconte, who was behind me on my right.

"Perconte, get back to the town and find someone, anyone who is an officer, and tell them what this is. We need help out here and fast. Don't come back until you bring aid and help." I ordered Frank without tearing my eyes away from the man whom I was holding hands with. He was weeping now, almost collapsing to the floor from touching me.

"You got it Captain." Perconte said to me as he started running back to the forest now. I had no other choice but to stay with the man now and see him weep in front of me, breaking my own heart from what I was seeing and what I was feeling, They were all humans, yet this was not what I expected to see from humanity. I had to save them now, I had to find a way to save them and get them free. Other were reaching out to the men like they did to me. Bull took another man's hand as I looked over at Luz.

"Find the opening to this place and we need to find a way in." I said to him, hearing him run off as I looked back at the man. He was holding me in a deathtrap now, not letting go as I felt a tear leave my eye now and hit the ground below me.

_"Sie lassen uns nicht! Bitte!"_ (Don't leave us! Please!) He said to me over and over, thinking that we were going to leave him. I shook my head at him now, hearing the pain in his voice and feeling it in his hand.

_"Wir Lassen Sie Nicht._" (We will not leave you.) I promised him, crying myself now as we were holding hands through the fence. It was my own promise to him now, this stranger who looked like he went to hell and back. I had to know.

What happened here?

What happened in Landsburg?


	32. Chapter 32

All I could think about, all I can do, is just look around see the pain that was within that place.

That camp.

Jesus, that's what they called it: a camp. I wondered why this place to be a camp when all I could see was pain and torment behind those eyes. All I could smell was the burning skin of those already dead and when we walked in, all I could think about, was why? Why was its even real? why were these people suffering here within these barbed wires, it felt like a recurring nightmare that was happening right in front of me over and over. Those eyes pouring into me, asking me if they were even going to survive with us there.

Once Perconte came back with jeeps and trucks filled with soldiers, Winters next to him in the jeep and he himself saw what was going on. By the time they got there, I was still against the fence holding the man's hand that grasped me minutes before. I wasn't going to let him go since I doubted that he would like that a whole lot. He was holding me close in a death grip though I looked over to Winters now as he was watching me while he was hopping out of the jeep. I didn't want to leave the man and yet I felt more reluctant to walk over to the front when they opened the gate and go inside myself to see it for myself.

It was still unreal

We were in stunned silence as we were walking into the camp, some of us were trying to get our titans together and water in order to give it to them since they were all starving and weeping from the sight of us. Another group of soldiers was being embraced by the prisoners, holding them close and kissing their cheeks and weeping into their jackets, some of them falling into the ground now with joy and relief. I tried to compose myself hell we all did when we saw what was going in that small contained area. But mostly, I just wanted to cry from what I was seeing, Because these men were humans, they didn't seem like murderers or anyone mean, and yet they were treated like animals.

I walked with Webster and Luz, both of them looked too shocked and huddled within themselves because this was all too much to drink in and absorb.

"Jesus, can you believe this place, Web?" Luz asked in a low tone, no single sign of joy on his face like he would usually use. Web's mouth was open zoning out from what was going on around us.

"No." he replied, looked over at me now and I shook my head, I was trying to figure it all out myself as I was scanning the area.

"Da ist sie! Da ist sie! Der, den ich traf!" (There she is! There she is! The one I met!) The three of us looked over to see a couple of the prisoners walk over to me now and the one who was talking was in the face that prisoner that I held hands with for a solid twenty minutes. I lost him in the crowd of prisoners when we opened the gates and came in, but now I found him again and he was watching me with his eyes. That was something that caught my eye and made me look my thoughts: His bright green eyes. They were such a contrast to how his skin looked and how he was carrying himself. They were bright, compared to the grayness that was surrounding him.

"_Sie hat uns gerettet_." (You saved us.) He said to me in a simple tone as two others being him were nodding in agreement. This didn't seem right for me to have this compliment thrown at me since all that I did was find this place at the right time. I couldn't think at all what would have happened if we had chosen to go to another forest, at a different time, or we turned left instead of right. This was such a coincidence that we found this place, and I made the one decision to not just walk by, to find some kind of help for them. How was I going to turn them away and keep walking?

"_Ich have nicht_." (I didn't.) I was about to start to defend it, but Webster grabbed the jacket to stop me from my rant. I looked over at him, seeing him eye me now as he shook his head. He knew German, he knew what the man said to me, and he knew that I was about to try and get myself out of it. But this time, he was going to make sure I knew what I was going to receive from this man, this poor man.

"_Wie heißt du?_"(What is your name?) He asked me again. My eyes went from Webster back o the man in front of me. I found my voice again.

"_Kit ist mein Name_." (Kit's my name.) I replied back to him, seeing him smile at me and see the broken on his face go a bit warmer now and I tried to smile back. But my own heart breaking from all that I was seeing because this didn't seem like a real sense of humanity there.

It was all too much.

After most of the medic got through to helping most of the men that they could get their hands on, we found piles upon piles of bodies of the prisoners that didn't make it. It didn't make sense, why this was all happening and why these men were there. But we found out that answer later as Joe Liebogtt was interviewing one of the younger and almost healthier printers, asking him with Winters, Nixon and Ron there to hear what he had to say, and once he dropped the bomb on what happened and why they were there. it was like we were all slapped in the face:

They were Jews.

Really, Jews?

Jews? Here in a camp? How was that even possible? They were left there to die when the German soldiers that were running the camp heard that American were coming this way, killing all that they could and then leaving the camp behind and locking the gates to that n one else could escape. It sounded so inhuman, way too inhuman, almost demonic really. How wrong it was that humans could do something like this to each other without a second thought to a feeling of remorse. It was more painful to think that it was Jews that was mostly getting the blow of it. But others were thrown into these camps too: Poles. Gypsies, homosexuals, anyone whom the Germans did not like at all.

After I found out that information, I locked eyes with Ron and I could see this was affecting him too. It took me so much willpower to not run over and embrace him, to hide away from the world and try to forget what was happening around us. And from the look I was getting from him he was feeling the same way. Even through our look with each other, I could see he was hiding something else from me, it made me wonder what it was and why he was looking at me now personally like he was being punched in the gut. This was a new look he was giving me, and I had to think that it was because of this camp. But I knew it was something else.

Colonel Sink made it to the camp along with a couple of other Companies, along with Dr. Kent who was our Head Medic in the regiment. They saw what was happening to the prisoners and that they needed help, and they even decided to go into the towns before Dr. Kent and Sink came to us. I went with Webster as we went into one of the bakery stores in town to get food for the prisoners though it turned nasty as Webster changed from calm to bitterly angry. I remembered the whole thing well: I was in the store trying to tell the other men that were working in the store to give us all their bread and all of their pastries. The head baker was yelling at Webster, and I could see the patience slowly leaving him as the baker was yelling at him now in anger and confusion.

"Shut up!" Webster said to him as I was watching him with the other soldiers carrying out crates of bread and the baker was reporting back in relation. It reached the point now as Webster shoved the baker against the wall, arm against his chest, and his gun out and pointing at him. I shifted a but shoot up from leaning against the wall and the baker was now petrified.

"I said shut up, you Nazi fuck!" Webster screamed at the baker.

"_Ich-ich bin Nazi! Ich bin kein Nazi_!" (I'm not a Nazi, I'm not a Nazi!) He said to Webster in a wave tone. I walked over to Webster now, seeing that this was about to go way too far for someone like Webster to threaten someone who seemed to have no idea what was going on.

"Not a Nazi? My mistake, you fat fucking prick! How about a human being? Are you one of those? Or are you gonna tell me that you never smelled the fucking stench?!" Webster asked him in a sneer as I placed an arm on his him threw him off before he could do any more damage to the poor man. I got him against the wall, far away enough from the baker as I glared at him.

"_Genug! Beruhigen_!" (Enough! Calm down!) I said to him in a commanding tone, hearing nothing from either Webster or the baker since my voice was ringing in the room. Webster eyed me now as I was giving him my Captain glare now, he slowly moved his gun back down and then sighed, though he was still angry as I looked back at the baker who looked like he was about to cry from all that was happening.

"_Toeten sie mich nicht, bitte. Bitte, töten sie mich nicht! Ich verstehen nicht_." (Don't kill me, please. Please, do not kill me! I do not understand).

"He doesn't know what is going on." I said in English to Webster now, who glared at the man and then stalked away now. He could muster one word that could easily sum up all that we were thinking when the people in the town were wondering what was going on. None of them knew what was happening do close to their homes and store, and yet Webster's one word made perfect sense.

"Bullshit."

* * *

"Captain Kit." I was pulled away from the open boxcar on the train track that was filled with dead bodies, standing in front of here with a bandana over my mouth to cover the smell that was still coming through the fabric against my lips and skin. Once we got back with the bread, Dr. Kent explained to us that we had to keep the prisoners there in the camp in order to regulate their eating and make sure they weren't going to get sick from eating too much, let alone starving and their bodies getting used to this much food.

It was all sickening.

Worst of all, Joe had to be the one to tell them all since he was the translator. I could see the pain there, hearing it in his voice and seeing it in his eyes as he stood on the top of the jeep and said the news. The sound of the pain and defeat in their voices as they cried out in confusion as to why they were being sent back to the camps where they almost died in. After Joe said it, I saw him collapse in the jeep and have a moment to himself, almost causing me grief as he was silently crying by himself, It was the first time I saw him in tears, let alone being that emotional before since I met him at Fort Benning. This was too real and raw, even for someone like Joe. Not only was he was A Jew and he was seeing people of his Race almost literally die in front of him, but he had to be the one to deliver the blow.

Oh, Joe.

Nixon was there, stunned in his eyes and stature as he was watching me now when I stared at him. The others were trying to get the prisoners healthy and all better from whatever happened to them.

"The prisoner that Joe interviewed told us that there is a women's camp on the next train stop." he explained though now I was even more in shock from the news. I lowered the bandana and let it hung around my neck now as I was watching him with confused eyes.

"A women's camp?" I asked him to make sure he was correct. But from the look in his eyes and how he looked like he wanted to punch a wall, he was telling the truth now and it was killing him more and more, like the rest of us in Easy.

"It's at the next stop. Colonel Sink is requesting us to go there and liberate that camp as well." He explained to me, eyeing me and saying nothing else as I saw where he was going with this conversation. Since I was a Captain now, and being the only female in this Company….that could only mean one thing.

"He wants me to go." I said in a low manner, he reluctantly nodded his head and I sighed in defeat. I knew this was coming, that I was going to have to do tasks that were only meant for women instead of the men. They were going to make me do more tasks than before when I was merely a sniper. But now I was a Captain, and it was my responsibility to make sure lives are taken care of.

"It's up to you, but he feels you can handle whatever happens." Nixon informed me, having me nod and shift a bit in my boots.

"I'll go." I said to him simply.

"Who do you want to go with you?" He asked as I looked around to see who was closely for me to see their face. I could see a couple of them, and we were still drinking it all in and trying to wrap our heads around what was going on around us. I was getting chills going up and down my spine and my own fingers were tapping rapidly against my jacket to calm myself down over and over again from screaming out loud from the pain I was feeling.

"Doc as my medic," I started, seeing him nod his head and cross his arms in front of me, "Along with Bull, Shifty, Liebgott, Babe, Johnny Martin, Garcia, and you sir, if you don't mind." I explained to him as I was thinking of the men that I wanted with me as I was going to the next camp now.

"Done, I'll go get them ready for you." He explained to me, turning away and walking over before I could thank him and smile. I had to do this all over again with another camp, this time, with the females now instead of the males that were here and eating the bread like their lives depended on it. Well, it did and they were so desperate for it. No wonder we had to keep them in the camp, they wouldn't have made it out there since some of them would have ran and others would not know what to do or how to take care of themselves. I saw Ron walk over to me now, and I was already breaking over and over now from seeing these men trying to find life again.

"Kit, I heard you're going over to the woman's camp." He said to me as I placed my hands on my lips and looked down at my boots, trying not to cry just hearing his voice for once since we came to this camp. We both were beyond busy with these men and trying to get them taken care of that we couldn't find and talk to each other. I knew if I locked eyes with him, I was going to lose it.

"I'm taking a small group of men with me to help in any way that we can." I explained to him.

"I should come with you." He suggested to me, having finally looked up at him now and see him looking at me with both love and concern there. He could see me hurting about all that was happening around us, and I knew he was hurting too as his green eyes looked right at me.

"You don't think I can handle this one on my own, Captain?" I asked him in almost a bitter manner since it sounded like he was thinking I needed help. I knew he was concerned about me and how I was trying to contain myself and what I wanted to do from seeing these poor souls. It made me sick and it made me want to hit something because of the hate that I was feeling. Ron shook his head though, not showing any signs of wanting to argue with me.

"I want to be there as support, Kit." He replied back, not in a bitter remark but as someone who could see me hurting. I analyzed him, seeing that he meant it as he walked over to me now and gave me a short smile. I would like to have him with me and to help me out though this whole thing.

"Thank you, Ron, But I think I can do this with the men who are coming with me," I said to him in low but kind way about it, "Sink doesn't want more than one Captain there, it would be too risky."

"I'm not asking to come anymore as a Captain," Ron countered back with me now as he took another step over to me, lacing our fingers together with anyone else seeing what we were doing and having me feel him squeeze our fingers together, "I want to come as someone who cares about you."

It was hard enough to say no to that face, but I had to stick with my own guns about it and how I wanted to deal with it myself. So I shook my head this time, not wanting to fall into the same trap that I did before with him.

"Please, stay here for the men," I said to him and this time I didn't want to sound like I was pleading to him. He just stared at me in disbelief now as I pulled way from him and walked away, trying to just get my own shit together in front of others as I saw an upcoming couple of jeeps coming way with some of the men I requested already ready to go to the next place. I walked away from Ron, not hearing him follow me then and it pained me that I would have to just go away from him and try to look out for the others in front of me. I loved what I had with Ron, I really did, but it was still…all too much now.

This was not the time for me to act on my own emotions.

"You ready, Captain?" Nixon asked me as I hopped into the passenger seat, Liebgott, Martin and Babe behind me in my own jeep and Doc sitting next to me in the middle. I looked back at Ron one more time, seeing the hurt on his face. He was now standing alone there along the side of the road, just watching me and both of his hands were clutched in front of him like he was about to punch something.

"Let's go." I said to Nixon as he got the jeep in gear now.

Now or never.

* * *

Walking back down the hall back to my room was more exhausting than ever. I thought the first camp was bad, this camp was we just came from, with women and children, was much worse. I threw up at least three times behind the bushes of the nearby trees, and I refused to have anyone look at me spewing out vomit and shaking from the energy being left me. But it was once again all too much, beyond too much for me now and it made me really wonder if I was ever going to find some kind of light of day again. Now it was nightfall, I tried to find some kind of comfort and source of peace within that whole shithole of a day that just happened.

It was changing for all of us.

The boys that came with me, all of them were wrecked. None of us spoke on the way back, Eugene resorted to having silent tears down his face and his hands were shaking the whole time since he was treating so many of the victims that he could get this hands on. Joe was still shaken up from the first encounter at the camp, and now it was worse for him since he was looking like he was about to punch the wall out.

Once we got back, we all went o our own rooms and none of us said a single word to anyone who asked, which was hardly anyone in the first place. They knew, looking at our faces, that something was wrong, very wrong with what we have seen. I looked the worst, my palms were sweating from the cold and my head was swimming in the constant vision of those we found there. It was never going to end for me, having em wish I could scream as I got into my apartment then.

It was dark there, none of the lights were on in the first sitting room as I closed the door and I took off my jacket slowly before I got the light to turn on near me to give off the distant glow that would haunt the room. I wanted to feel safe again, safe and no longer afraid of what was going to come up behind me and make me wish I was dead. But being there in that dark room, it wasn't feeling safe to me.

I walked a few steps before I heard it, the muffled sound of my name being called from somewhere in the other room, near my bedroom. At first I was startled. placing my hand near my pistol on my hip and not moving an inch after I heard my name being called. But ti took another moment or two before I heard it again:

"Kit?" I knew it was Ron for certain since his voice was muffled yet distant from where he was in my room. I started to walk over there slowly, placing my pistol on the table that I was walking by because there was no real point to it anymore. Slowly, I got to the opening of the bedroom where I could see a figure there by the window, placing one hand on the windowsill and another was near his mouth as he was smoking a cigarette and watching the smoke escape through the breeze in the window.

"I thought you were back with the other boys near the base headquarters." I said to Ron as I got into the room some more, yet he stayed so still that it started to care me in how he was standing near the windowsill now and his hand there grasping it like he was trying to breathe. I stopped walking then, knowing that something was wrong with him in how he was not watching me anymore, or rushing over to see if I was okay from all that I did. No, he was being haunted himself really.

"Ron?" I asked him, the growing fear that he was being scored or pained from whatever was going on in his head was getting bigger and bigger now. I wondered what it was, almost losing my own breath as he exhaled the smoke through his thin lips and then he sighed in what sounded like defeated.

"Kit, I have to tell you….shit." He muttered out loud, like he was punched in the gut as he pushed himself away from the windowsill now and moved to be in the middle of the room, his head hanging to the floor to make it seem like I couldn't see his own eyes see the pain there. But I didn't need to see his eyes then because I saw it in his body language and I heard it in his voice. I was now scared for him, beyond scared really since he found his voice again.

"I have to tell you something, Kit." He said to me now, sounding so broken about it as I found my own voice again and tried to be the one who sounded composed and careful.

"What happened?" I asked him carefully now, thinking that I was going to care him if I sounded too concerned about it. He finally looked up at me, having me watch in horror the glossy eyes that he had there like he was in tears. God, he was crying and I had no clue as to why.

"There's something that I kept from you, that I didn't tell you about." He said to me now in almost a croak, I stood still, however, waiting for some kind of blow to the stomach and what could be lying ahead yet I was still confused as to what he was hiding from me. I knew he was secretive, but from what I was seeing on his face, he was beyond scared to tell me whatever he wanted to say.

"What is it?" I asked him softly and once again carefully. He was keeping his stare on me, and the breath he took in was almost as hard as someone shooting a gun for the very first time. It was the very next thing he said that made everything in my whole world around me drop into a thousand pieces and shatter.

"Kit I'm….I'm married."

Everything was going dark if it wasn't dark already. It was like I was drowning under thousands and thousands of waves like I was suffocating and trying to breathe, but nothing came out. I tried to think of something, anything, that would dig me out from the coffin I felt like I was in. Ron was…..married? It was a slap to my face, and my chest felt like it was crushing from the inside out and he was just staring at me, as if I was going to just say that it was fine. No…it was not fine at all. Hell, I couldn't breathe as I felt hot tears hitting my cheeks then and my hands making fists at my sides. I wanted to do something, anything really that involved me wanting to punch and wall from what I was feeling.

Nothing came out of my mouth, but my body really wanted to kill something, It was something that I was bred to do: shoot to kill. Anyone that would cross me I would eliminate them, but this was different. Ron, in a sense, did cross me after all. He kissed me though he was married to someone else, and it was like I was played and used only for some kind of comfort. I didn't want to think that way, I didn't want to believe that it was true. But there he was, in front of me and looking like he was stabbed himself, and I thought I was fooled to believe him.

"You're….you're married." I said in a gasp, like I was not breathing anymore and trying to get something into my lungs as I felt myself falling into the chair next to me, zoning out with the stabbing pain of betrayal that was going through me from the top of my head to my toes and fingers and most importantly, my heart. Ron took a hesitant step over towards me, having me now look at him with some kind of hate that was surfacing of me now for no real reason.

"Kit, I wanted…I wanted to tell you sooner." He said to me as he was close enough to grasp my hand there, but as soon as he was reaching out to touch my hand with his, I pulled away and he left his hand out there on the table, looking at me almost in shock from what I did now. I was looking up at him, more tears there on my cheeks since I was already broken and damaged from what I saw in the camps that very day, This was unbearable and he was trying to make ti more pleasant than anything.

"But you decided to kiss me instead." I gritted my teeth then, the hate was still there under my skin and wanting to come out. The assassin part of me wanted to just punch him, kill him for what he did to me. It was the monster side of me that was making me wish I was dead and no longer obligated to kill.

"It's not what it seems—" Ron started to tell me calmly, but I then shot up from my chair with such force that the chair itself collapsed to the floor in a loud bang as I glared at him.

"STAY AWAY FROM ME!" I screamed at him, seeing him freeze in his spot as my voice rang in the room. This was the darkest moment in my life, seeing someone whom I thought I loved and trusted was now telling me that there was another part of his life that he kept secret, the same man whom I called my friend after telling him all that happened with me. No, he was different in my eyes now as I glared at him and was inching so close to wanting to kill him then and there. Where did this come from, the fact that I wanted to murder? This was the side that i wished I could ears, not to mention this whole conversation hat just happened with him. Neither one of us moved from our spots in the room, the soft glow of the one lamp in the room made me see that he was crying too. But who was I to care at that point? He just broke my heart, my soul, and all that I had left that was good in the morning.

"Don't ever…come near me again." I said to him slowly with the breaking of my tone evident there in my tone. As soon as I said those words, the tears of his face were free falling now as I got my slowly from my spot in the chair and moved away from him. He said nothing as I walked out of the room, didn't move from his spot in the room as I walked back into the sitting tom and then grabbed the pistol that I left on the table mere minutes before. I silently walked, the tears still falling as I walked out of my own apartment and stepped into the hallway.

Finally, I chocked out a gasp and a sob escaped.

It was like the rape all over again, the feeling of betrayal was hung there for me to see no matter how many times I blinked and tried to think of something else. It made me feel the shame that I let this happen, that I was no smart enough to see that he was far too good to be true. I was beyond battered now, battered and broken to be anywhere close to being mended back together again.

The rest was a blur.

I could hear Shifty's voice as he was calling out to me to see what was wrong since his room was across from my own now. I could feel him place his hands on my arms to shake me out of the daze I was in, but I was too far gone to do anything. He grabbed the pistol in my hand, walking me to his room and closing the door behind him as I was sobbing now, the noise coming out of my mouth sounded more pitiful than ever. He could hear me mutter out, "Ron…Ron killed me.." over and over in a choked but soft sob.

He had no clue what he did, but he had some kind of idea that Ron hurt me. Bless Shifty.

The last thing I remembered doing that night was being in Shifty's bed, curled in a ball and my head was spinning with pain, with heartbreak, and with agony as I cried myself to sleep. Shifty held my hand the whole time, not letting me go as he stayed close like an angel. All I wanted when I came to the army was to find freedom.

But all I found was the pain.


	33. Chapter 33

"Go on, Doc, I'll watch out." I could hear them talking about me as I was still curled up in my ball in Shifty's bed. I could hear Doc opening the door and closing it behind him, walking over to me slowly and then sitting next to me on the bed. He slowly took my hand in his to feel how cold it was and to check my pulse, and I was un no real mood to fight him to get off of me. Doc was trying to make what happen to me become lighter and less of a pain. But he was not the real reason behind it.

Everything was already wrong in my life.

I thought I had trusted Ron, but it was now shattered and spread out in front of me like one kind of tragic play that I had to play in because of my bad luck. This was not what I wanted to have with my life when it came to being an assassin, and I had to be the failure to think that I could have something else good in life, not knowing that this could be some kind of backlash behind it.

Ron was the major backlash.

Shifty resorted to getting Winters and Doc to see what was going on with me, yet the whole time they were talking outside about what was going to happen to me. For some reason I was still out of it, and in my mind I was really wondering if I was going to come back to reality and be the top respected and intense Captain that I once us, before it all went to hell in a hand basket.

"How bad was it, Shifty?" Winters asked in a hushed tone, yet I could still hear it from the other side of the door. Doc was still quiet and checking my pulse within his fingers now, but I stayed quiet too, looking at the wall and not saying one single word as he was still working on me.

"She was sobbing, sir. I've never seen her like that before, sir." Shifty replied to Winters now, having me close my eyes in defeat and feel the dull pain within my chest like a bruise and it was pounding over and over again,

"Did she say anything?" Winters asked Shifty, having me shoot my eyes open and wait for Shifty to say something that would eventually get myself and Ron in trouble. I was still furious at Ron, wanting to really hate him for what he did to me, but then again I didn't want him to get in more trouble with Winters since he was already chewed out by me and with what he was feeling. I still, in a small sense of the word, cared for him and for what was going on with him. But that too was slowly dimming into darkness and into doubt since he already was killing the trust I had for him.

"Nothing, sir." I was shocked that he lied, not saying a word about what I was saying over and over like a broken record. I was beyond assured that he was going to be rating Ron out since I mentioned him with my tears and sobs. Shifty was really walking in thin ice with this now since he lied to Winters, who said nothing as I was looking at the wall now and just…staring and feeling myself shake all over again.

"Going to those camps weren't really helping her, Dick. She overworked herself at the Women's Camp." Nixon was there in the conversation apparently, and he too sounded a bit about what was going on. This was much making it worse since I really didn't want others to be involved with what was going on with me and my mental breakdown in the middle of the hallway late into the night. The camps had something to do with it, but then again everything that was wrong in my life was spilling over from the moment that I came back from the camps and encountered Ron.

"She's been under enough pressure that could make any other person snap." Winters added to the conversation, and this time I felt Doc squeeze my hand in his to show that he was right there with me. I moved my eyes up to where he was, seeing him gaze down at me and just give me a serious yet loving stare. It was the same kind of look I would get from my dad after I would have a nightmare, or when I would get heartbroken from an old flame and one of my brothers would try and heal it. It was the same thing all over again, this time I was nowhere near my real family to go to for this kind of the pain to be mended. But then again, Easy Company, not to mention Wolf Company, they were both my family now and it was fine by me. Doc right now was almost playing the role of my father, mostly my older brother.

"Eugene..." I started, finding my voice for once in the whole situation that was happening. He shook his head as I could tell his was affecting him too. He hated seeing me like this, and if I was in his position and him in my own, I would be upset too.

"You're okay, Kit." He reassured me, his voice and soothing and low. It almost reminded me of a melody really, how I was feeling a bit more numb than in pain because of him holding my hand and him talking to me soothingly.

"I'll notify Major Jacobs about that happened to her," Winters explained to the men outside the room.

"You think he wants to know that one of his Captains had a nervous breakdown?" Nixon asked, having me squeeze Doc's hand there and really wish that they would call it something else, anything else really since it was nothing of a mental breakdown. Not to me. It was my heart breaking, not my mind going insane.

"That wasn't what it was….sir." Shifty was trying to defend me from what was going on with me, and for that I knew I was going to have to be more grateful to him. He knew that it had nothing to do with me dealing with far too much, it was sometime else that was making me feel and act like this. What a fool I was, curling up like a baby in my friends' bed and crying like I was a teenager all over again. I was no soldier anymore, just a broken doll that was tainted and scared far too many times.

"I agree, Nixon. This is something else that shook her," Winters said in a frustrated sigh, "Every soldier has some kind of breaking point, and I think Kit got to hers tonight with the camps."

"She's been through far too much, she needs a break." Nixon agreed to it as I sighed and closed my eyes again, feeling the sense of dread that was flooding me over and over again, since others were not worrying for me and think gin that I was now a basket case.

"Try to go to sleep, Kit. You need rest or else you're gonna make yourself sick." Doc reassured me with his soothing and low tone. I shook my head, not wanting to try and do something so simple as to close my eyes now.

"I don't want to." I said to him in almost a miserable manner.

"I'm staying right here with you, promise." He said to me as he rubbed my arm in a calm motion back and forth. I had to give some kind of reassuring smile to him though it was still hard for me to do something like that. Doc was none the less devoted to making sure I was safe within my own mind and sanity, it was part of his job really as the medic: to protect. I cared for him beyond words, enough to call him my own brother to be fair.

"Thank you Doc." I said to him in a low tone, trying to get somewhat comfortable there on the bed and just try to slow down the pain I was feeling all over me. I tried to rethink everything that happened, that I was not in any physical pain and there was nothing or no one that was going to harm me or kill me then and there. That night, as I was falling asleep, I was seeing the past demons that were haunting me. All of the people I killed, all of the blood I have seen, and the worst of it all.

The one moment when Ron dropped everything that was good in the world into the abyss of my nightmares.

* * *

**May 3rd, 1945**

**Outskirts of Berchtesgaden**

We left Landsburg a couple of days later, since then I requested to be in a different jeep from Ron and I steered clear from him as much as humanly possible. It was bad enough to see him when I eventually left my room and got myself to look normal again. The other saw what happened to me, how I was wrecked from head to toe since I came back from the women's camp Not one person said a wrong about it when I walked out and over to my jeep, looking dead ahead as they piled in at the back and we drove off.

There was nothing to be said.

Our next plan of attack was for us to head over to the area of Berchtesgaden, since apparently Hitler was still trying to get out but we were backing him up with hardly any of the German forces active anymore. The war was winding down in Europe, yet the war was still going on in The Pacific, and suddenly there was much talk about boys being sent over there to help with the war and to give aide. It was only a matter of who was going to be sent over there, and also as to how they were going to do it since now there was a point value that was floating around. If you had the points, you could go home without having to be in the war ever again. If you didn't have the points, you were stuck in the war.

No questions asked.

The ones that had some kind of idea of what was going on with me was Shifty and Eugene, since they could tell on my face that it was more than just having one bad day at the camps. The knew what happened to me and Gerald, they knew that I had my heartbroken and my world being shifted over from something good to something evil and wrong. So they could have some kind of sense that this meant that Ron had something to do with it, but they didn't question it at all.

As for Ron, he stayed away.

He could tell I wanted nothing to do with him and how he was trying to handle himself. No, I had to real care to hear what he had to say to listen to anything about it really. All I wanted to do, was my job, and then get home as soon as I could. The others could see how I was no longer talking to him or spending time with him, they could see something shifted within me because of him. But none the less, he gave me space. it was the only thing that I wanted from him.

Along with his silence.

One of those days that we were outside of the town e were about to enter and take over, Ir received another letter from Major Jacobs, having me read it to myself and not be around others at that point really. It was far too hot and too stuffy for me to just be with the others, and we were waiting on some highway to get through the blocked area that was placed up thanks to the Germans.

"Captain Kit." I heard behind me, having me slowly look over my shoulder to see Joe walking over to me now with his hands shoved in his pockets. The others in Easy were waiting to, some of them sitting on the road and writing as others were back in the jeeps now talking to one another, "Winters is thinking of moving us in as soon as we get it cleared."

"Thanks," I said to him in a soft manner, seeing him give me a short and closed smile before he noticed the letter in my hand now, pointing to it with one hand.

"You got another letter from Jacobs?" He asked me casually, having me nod once at him before breathing out slowly through my nose. This was not what I wanted to talk about, it was a crappy letter really and I was still trying to get my own head back to being a Captain again.

"Yeah." I replied calmly.

"What does he want now?" He asked, almost like a joke but then again it sounded serious too.

"I..uhh.." I tried to find the right words to tell him what was in the letter, but nothing was coming out of my mouth then since I was still getting my own shit together. Joe could see it was bothering me, how I was no longer cause in my conversations with him and how it seemed harder to just talk and be normal.

"You wanna talk about it?" He sounded more careful about it than anything when he asked, having me give him a nervous smile then and I shook my head.

"Not right now, no." I said back to him, watching him smile at me and nod his head. We always had some kind of complicated relationship, Joe and I. But we always tended to be sticking together, side by side, and at that moment with him, I could tell he was not going to be wanting to argue with me.

"But I'll tell you about it later, though. Okay?" I asked him, seeing him nod at me again as I got the letter folded and placed in my jacket pocket. I felt like Joe would not judge me really from all that shit that was going on in my life, and he wasn't going to start now with it. I wondered if he cared, really cared, about what was going on with me and how I was dealing with it all. Joe scanned my eyes, seeing that I was in fact telling the truth now, and he nodded his head slowly now.

"_Ordnung_." (Alright.) Joe replied back to me, giving me a small smile. He could tell something was wrong with me, hell all of them could tell. But Joe especially since he could see I was off about this whole letter that I got with Jacobs. I heard an incoming jeep that was driving over along the narrow highway that we were waiting on. Both Joe and I looked, seeing that in the passenger seat it was Colonel Sink, going off to talk to Winters now about what was the next step for us to do since we were going to get into the new Nazi-occupied town.

"What do you think's in there?" Joe asked me in curiosity as we stood side by side, him motioning with his head to the vast mud and rock slide that was blocking our way into the small town in the alps. It was still a question on all of our minds, what was beyond that blockade that the Germans placed to buy them time. What were we going to find, and was there anyone else there waiting for us?

"No idea." I replied.

"Something' doesn't seem right, you know? Joe asked me as we walked together back to the jeep, one round of explosions going off at the obstacle to getting it cleared and we felt the highway shaking underneath us now. I nodded in agreement with him as we were walking past another jeep, having me notice Ron watching me with his eyes and say nothing else. I kept walking, the churning in my stomach was going on again now as I spoke up.

"Yeah, doesn't seem right to me at all."

* * *

This place looked like heaven on earth. Literally.

There was no sign of war there, nothing broken or damaged. It was quiet, quiet and deserted since there was not one soul there when we rolled through. All we could find along the streets and hung out of windows were white flags.

They fled.

We walked along the streets, seeing every window and every door was wide open and with no sign of life there. None of us were used to this kind of quiet, not really because it felt almost haunting to walk through a ghost town. I was sitting in the jeep with Welsh, Nixon and Jeep as they were driving along the main road, the others in Easy were walking and had their guns out in case something was going to happen. But nothing was heard, nor seen, or experience there. All I could think about, going through the small streets in that little town in the alps, was how it looked so pleasant there.

Pleasant and safe, which was ironic since Nazis used to live here.

The next few days were consisted of us finding our own living areas, where once again I was in charge of a handful of men and making sure they had a place to sleep. I opted for the nicer apartments across the street from the medical office, Eugene thanking me for that since I had my boys being the first two floors not including the lobby. Hearing the men on the first floor arguing with each on who's living with who and in which apartment, I stopped into my own apartment that they found for me, the biggest one with the best view.

Bless them.

It was the biggest apartment I have stayed in: a large sitting room with a record player, one master bathroom with a porcelain sink and tub, two bedrooms though one of them had a twin bed and the other a king-sized bed, and the beautiful view of the alps with the sun dancing on the green top there. It was beyond what I needed, yet I had no real heart to argue since Winters convinced me this was good for me.

I needed space.

I would still work with the other officers and Captains, going through other buildings and clearing them from anything that would be harmful. All we could find was alcohol, one or two guns that were left behind, and jewelry from the rich wives of Nazis. It was as if they were letting us have their homes, since we hardly had to leave for any supplies. Doc and Spina were getting their hands on the medical supplies in the doctors' office, others were going through the small shops and stores to find food and more alcohol, and other were just needing to rest and find time to breathe. We were too enthralled at the new home we had since, at the end of all things, we were finding safety in an abandoned Nazi town.

We even took over the Eagle's Nest, high above in the Bavarian Alps overlooking Berchtesgaden, where Hitler stayed in before his own war went to hell, and we found our own loot there. It was a good victory for the men, who found the bottles of whiskey and wine that were left there and abandoned out in the open now as others were looking through the hundreds of books that too were left behind. I was walking alongside Welsh and Garcia as one of the books was left out, the title up and looking right at me now in it's thick German letterings as Welsh looked.

"What does it say?" Welsh asked me in curiosity as I crouched down, placing my fingers on the ground to balance myself with my toes and fingers as I was reading the title of the book. It was churning my stomach again as I looked up at the both of them who were waiting for me.

"It's about the Typography of the German people." I said to them both, seeing the look of remorse on their faces when I mention to them the book. I looked back down at it again, thinking of how one man who cause so much damage in the world, was reading and researching on the very people he intended to wipe out of the world. I wanted nothing to do with it, already hating reading that book out loud. I grabbed the book with one of my hands, hoisting myself up and standing in front of him, holding the book with ease as they were watching me now to see what I was going to do next. Was I going to have another breakdown from seeing a book like this in front of me? But I had another way to cope with it instead of tears.

I had a gun.

"Garcia." I said to him, seeing him straightening up a bit when I mentioned his name.

"Ma'am?" He asked me.

"How about you help me with some practice shooting."

* * *

"You sure about this?" Garcia asked me. We both were standing outside one of the balconies of the Eagle's Nest, Garcia having the book in his hand and he was about to throw it over the cliff and I was going to shoot it out of the sky for all to see. I thought it was a good idea, hell it was making me giddy or the first time in what felt like years really. The others caught on with what I was doing, seeing me with a pistol loaded next to me and Garcia was carrying a pile of books in front of him against his chest and waddling almost. By the time we were at the balcony, seeing the open mountains in front of us and the clear blue sky, most of the Company that came up to the Eagle's Nest was there surrounding the both of us now as I had two pistols in my hands now. Even Winters was there, along with Nixon and they were watching in amusement really as I heard the others talking to each other and me.

"As sure as I can ever be, Garcia." I said to him now, hearing the other summers around us as he was getting the first book ready.

"Let me in on this action." I looked behind me to see Joe weaving his way through the crowded area behind me as well as Martin and Malarky. Webster looked amused as Perconte himself looked like he was in shock from what I was going to do.

"So, you're gonna destroy all of his books?" Webster asked in amusement as Shifty made his way over to my side and smiled at me from what I was going to do.

"Only some of them." I replied smoothly, hearing the others chuckle a bit from the sheer thought of me doing this in front of them.

"Can I throw a couple?" Bull asked me as he got his way to the front of the crowd. I grinned at him since he too was worried about me since we left the women's came and I had my breakdown in the middle of the hall. He was more reserved about compared to Shifty and Doc, but he was concerned none the less. I nodded at him, seeing him cock a grin at me as he grabbed a few books in his hand.

"I'm gonna take this as your own way of therapy." Winters called out of me, having all of us look as he was a bit away from us with Nixon by his side along with Welsh now. They looked amused at the whole thing, not angry or pissed at what I was about to do. But I waited, thinking that I needed their approval since Winters felt more like my father in this kind of situation than anything really. He just grinned at me now.

"Very much so, sir." I replied back, feeling someone place their hand on my shoulder to squeeze it and show me some kind of respect there. He nodded his head at me, having me look ahead and raise one pistol in the air as the other was staying at my side.

"Come on, Shifty, I need my partner." I said to Shifty now as I shoved him with my shoulder. He grinned as he got his own pistol out and aimed high, me as well as we heard the others getting the books ready.

"Come on, Web. It'll be good to get your throwing arm in some practice." Joe joked with Webster.

"It's a bit sad to be destroying books, though." Webster said in a bit of remorse.

"Not these books, they need to be shot to hell." Joe muttered back to him in a lower tone as I cocked the pistol in my hand, ready to let loose.

"Start throwin' boys." Shifty said in next to me, one book flying over us into the sky and I shot it right in the middle. Another one skyrocketed in the air as the papers from the first destroyed book fell to the ground slowly, Shifty shooting that one once before cocking his gun again. We were getting every book blown to bits as they flew out in front of us, the boys taking turns with their throws and cheering as each book was shot and killed. For me, this was something I needed to do in order to get control again. I lost control that poor day back in Landsburg and with Ron, and how I almost lost myself in the whole situation. This was going to bring me back, bring me back to where I once was before it was all shot to hell.

Little did I know Ron was watching, a bottle of whiskey in hand as he walked away in pain.

* * *

I was sitting out near one of the lakes in the town, alone with my thoughts and trying to get my own shit in order and holding the letter from Major Jacobs in my hand. Both of my feet were in the water from the small dock that was there, the sun hanging over me now and the crystal blue waters of the lake was in front of me. It felt like I was in heaven then, only the sounds of the nature around me was hard and the plenty of shades of green were seen around me from the mountain tops. There were hardly any clouds in the sky now, having me breathe in the sweet scents of the grass and flowers that were growing nearby. I heard footsteps behind me now as my boots were sitting next to me with my bare feet in the water and my pants rolled up to my calves.

"We were lookin' for ya, Captain." It was Joe, who was walking over to where I was on the dock now as I looked up once again from the letter from Jacobs, not moving a bit as he was now standing behind me.

"Just needing some alone time in the morning." I replied to him calmly, kicking my feet a bit in the water as he then got down to sit next to me, cross-legged and watching me now with a knitted look of confusion on his face. It was still a bit bright there in the morning on the lake, and he had to squint a bit to see me there next to him now.

"You wanna talk about that letter now?" Joe asked me, already having me see that he wanted to talk about it more than anything really. He remembered that we were going to talk about the letter later, back to when I was still trying to pick up the pieces of my own lives.

"Here." I said to him, not wanting to have another fight. Joe and I were doing so good at this point, and for us to ruin that would kill me even more because I needed more friends than anything. So Joe took the letter and started reading it, having me watch the water in front of me now and wait for him to say something, anything, about the letter. He read it pretty quickly since he looked up briefly then.

" 'Immediate transfer'? What does that mean?" Joe asked me now as he was watching me with a look of confusion on his face. I sighed slowly, already ready for whatever Joe wanted to argue about really there.

"It means, that I'm leaving Easy Company." I replied to him calmly, finally looking over at him and see the look of both hate and betrayal there on his face. He was not liking what he was hearing and what he was reading on the letter that was already crinkled over and over from me shoving it in my pocket over and over again.

"Why would you be leaving?" he asked, having me see the fight already happening before it even did.

"Because I did what I was assigned to do: to protect and serve Easy Company," I explained to him calmly, though I could see more of the hurt on his face from what I was telling him, and yet I was trying to make it as calm as humanly possible.

"But still….they want you to leave?" He asked, his voice rising now with the bitterness there and the anger there on his face.

"Major Jacobs thinks I'm not needed with you guys anymore." I replied, having me see him shake his head in disbelief and I could tell: here it comes.

"Oh come on, that is bullshit." He said to me as he got up from his spot now and making fists at his sides now in frustration.

"Joe.." I trailed off, not having the pure energy to argue with him.

"No, Kit. This is stupid! You're one of us, you're an Easy member!" He tried to argue with me now, yet now I was standing in front of him on the pier.

"I was in Wolf Company first, Joe." I countered back with him with a level tone, since the last thing I really wanted was to have a rise out of him knowing how easily he can be worked up, "My loyalty is first and foremost to them, and along the way I grew to be loyal to you boys. I still take orders from Major Jacobs, over Winters as much as I hate to admit it."

"Tell them no, then." Joe said to me dryly, thinking that there was still a way out of this whole thing for me.

"I can't say no to him, Joe, Just like how you can't say no to Winters: he's my Major." I replied back, hearing him curse in German under his breath as I took in another shaky breath from this whole thing being hell. I hated this, being sent away from Easy and not having no real reason to come back. I rubbed my hair in my fingers now, already wishing that we weren't thinking and talking about it since it was killing me.

"Come on, Joe. Think about it: the war is basically done. Easy is in no real danger for needing me as the sniper, it would be a waste to keep me here now." I said to him in a low manner as he was eyeing me on the other side of the dock, making sure I was telling the truth.

"You think you're a waste?" He asked me, having me eye him now as he sounded more broken about it than anything.

"That's not….I…I'm a waste for this group, Joe..not in general." I tried to reword it, but he shook his head again and pointed at with one of his lanky fingers.

"You're not a waste, not with us," He argued with me, having me already feel the tears about to come back and hit me hard in the cheeks as he went on with his rant, "I get that some of us treated you like it, me included. And these past few months weren't really the best."

"No shit." I replied back to him, seeing him roll his eyes.

"And those camps…they wrecked you….but don't use that as an excuse to call yourself a waste." He said to me as more of a warning than anything. I shook my head as I took a step over to him now, my bare feet on the hardwood floor now and I was only wishing that I was somewhere else not talking about the camps. The wrecked him too, I could see how different he looked since we left that town and that placed of death.

"You saw those camps, Joe, …you saw those women." I stated to him, seeing him pause and not say a word as I knew he was thinking about it.

"So you knew why it wrecked me more there than anywhere don't you?" I asked him, my voice rising slightly then as he was drilling his eyes into mine. I tore my own away from him and looked to my left at the shoreline of the lake, hearing the rustling on the small waves on the shoreline and I closed my eyes with tears there.

"Did you know what they did to some of the women in that camp, the officers?" I asked him coldly, hearing nothing from him for a moment or so before I went on and clutched my jacket sleeves to hold onto something, "Joe…the reason I was a mess after we came back from the camps…I reason why I was wrecked…was because I felt what they were feeling."

"I'm not following." He replied after I opened my eyes and watched him, tears down my cheeks and staining my shirt and pants now.

"They were scared of the men, all of you, because of what happened to them for something they didn't do…and I knew what that felt like…to have the shame on you because of what a man did to their bodies and it was out of their control." As soon as I said that, his eyes went wide and his stance was stiff now since I dropped the whole virus that was eating away at me because of the women's camp, how it was now numbing me over and over and not in the best way.

"Holy shit." Joe gasped out as I turned away from him and walked back over to the edge of the dock, looking down at the shallow water and slowly placing my feet back in as I sat on the edge, saying nothing but soaking it all in again, "You were….you were raped?"

I said nothing, not moving an inch as he walked back over to me again, standing next to me for a second before he sat down. I hated talking about it, thinking about it, since now at this time in the war all I wanted to do was curl up and die in a ball with all the darkness that was coming through me now. Joe was the last person I wanted to talk to about this, but he was booming more of a friend to me and I needed that as of late. He watched me now, still with shock on his face as he spoke up again.

"Did it happen in the war?" He asked slowly and carefully, having me shook a look at him.

"Christ, no. Winters or Jacobs would never allow that, you know that." I said to him, seeing him nod once before I looked back down again at my folded hands on my lap.

"So…before the war then?" He asked me.

"It's a bit of a story, I doubt you want hear about my sappy story." I said in a bitter tone, having me see him reach over and place a hand on my own to have me look over at him. His lanky fingers on my freckled on, the look of seriousness there on his lanky face as we sat at the edge of a dock in the beautiful Alps, and all I could think about, was how unworthy I was to call him friend.

"I wanna hear about it because I care about ya," He replied to me, not in a cocky manner but with kindness and care there. This was rare for me to see him, and I was glad he was showing it to me now since he was so sore about me leaving the group behind.

So I told him. I told him everything.

* * *

Once again, like with Shifty and with Doc, we both were sitting there together, shoulder to shoulder and breathing in the silence and the aftershock of what I told him. He was just as stunned as Doc, almost angry about what happened to me, but he then eyed me as I breathed out slowly and tried to get the ache I was feeling off of my stomach and into the open. But this time, the ache was less of a pain, more numb that it was the other two times I told the story to Shifty and Doc. This time, it felt better to talk about it and to get it away from me.

"So..after you get sent back to Wolf…what are you gonna do?" Joe asked me in wonder now.

"Don't know. I doubt they're going to use Wolf Company in the Pacific since we were barely approved to be here in Europe. So I guess…we go home." I replied back calmly, but then it hit me. For me to go home, back to my mother and father …..I never wanted to go back there in the first place. My mother would ask questions, she would start to get things back to normal in her own sense and would make me really wish I was dead instead of being back there. I would have no brothers to rely on and to protect me from her. Shit.

"You gonna go back home, to your mom and dad?" He asked me, seeing the wheels turning in my head now as I was looking more defeated than ever.

"I don't want to, but I don't have a choice." I replied in a croak.

"After what happened to you, you're going to go back _there_?" Joe sounded angrier than, more like a big brother would as I rolled my eyes and threw up my hands in frustration.

"I have no choice in that part, not really," I muttered to him, "I have no other place to go to, and it's gonna be hell enough be back in civilian life as it is."

"Yeah, but don't go back there." Joe almost sounded like he was begging for me not to be back in the hell that was my home.

"Where am I going to go?" I asked him, seeing him watch me now as I was about to have another round of tears coming down, "I have no real money left over to reply on to get my now place. And, to be honest, I would rather die than go back there." We were silent again as I was thinking of the dread that would be my future with my family. It made me want to vomit really, but Joe eyed me then and then pulled out what looked like a pencil from his pocket.

"Give me your letter." he instructed me, having me eye him.

"What?"

"Just do it." He replied, having me roll my eye again as I shoved the crumpled letter to him, seeing him smooth it out and write something on the back without me seeing. He handed it back to me, having me smooth it out with my fingers and try to read his poor attempt of writing.

"My address." I shot a look at him now as he told me this, a small smile on his face, "Along with my number."

"Why are you giving me this?" I asked him with a shrug of my shoulders now. He just smiled then, no longer looking angry or mad at the situation but more of a friend who saw another friend in need.

"My Ma taught me a lot of shit growing up, and since I'm the oldest of 6, I had to listen to all of it. One of them, she reminded me plenty of times, and it's to help a friend when you know they're in trouble." He explained to me, then pointing to my paper and still eyeing me as a caring brother would.

"I know you're in trouble, Kit. I know you don't wanna do back there since you would rather have a fuckin' root canal in all your teeth. And if it helps, I would too," I grinned at him though it was a sad grin since he was serious with me, "So you can stay with me if you want."

"What?" I asked in disbelief.

"I had friends stay at our place plenty a time when they were in a pickle with their folks or girlfriends, and you're in a big one. I was taught to be a source of help for someone whom I called a friend, to be loyal to them and not let them go. Hell, I think it's part of my religion to help others, don't you think?" He passed, having me sniff a bit as I moved the tears out of my eyes with my jacket sleeve now.

"Yeah." I replied softly.

"So, when this whole war is over, you come stay with me as a friend. You can get your feet on the ground and land a job, and then we can get you a place. But I don't wanna think about you going back to your mom and dad and think that is your only option, it ain't." And just like that, I felt more devotion to Joe than at any time before that. I tried to think of a way to thank him, hug or kiss him on the cheek. But it was all too much. how Joe basically told me he was going to take care of me and make sure I was safe away from my old life and old war wounds. I smiled at him, broken smile.

"Thank you, Joe." I thanked him, seeing him place his hand on my own again as I held the letter in my other hand.

"No one gets left behind in Easy." He reminded me.

He was right: No one.


	34. Chapter 34

Shifty and I walked through the wood, guns out and ready to shoot any deer we would see. It was high morning, and we were having our own partner time before we would we were going to be joined by the others in Easy since they wanted in on the hunting action. The forest here in the Alps did remind me of Colorado, the high trees with the shades of green seeping through because of the sun, the firm yet soothing ground beneath our boots and the morning breeze that came through from the high mountain air.

Perfect day for hunting.

Joe was the only one who knew I was going to be transferred, and he swore he wouldn't tell the others until I was ready. I didn't want to drop that bomb just yet, it didn't feel right for me to do that to the boys since we were just trying to enjoy our time in the quiet mountain town. They too were trying to keep occupied: joy rides through the alleyways and small hiking trails along the ridges, drinking the alcohol into oblivion and just breathing in the nature without worrying if they are in the line of fire. We were at peace, for the first time since we jumped into Normandy really. There was no sign of us to fight, no enemy to look out for. So we sat.

Sitting for us could be deadly.

I knew I couldn't sit because then I would think again and it would make me do back into being a mess again. I never wanted to go back to that place, in what deadly place where I almost lost it all within my now head. I still had a job to do: make sure the other boys weren't going to be stupid things. That was all there was to it with me really, and the other Captains. After we saw a reel about what was going on in the Pacific in one of the viewing rooms, talk about being sent over to the Pacific was spreading like wildfire, and who was going to be chosen to just go home. For me, I knew for a solid fact I had no place there within those islands, and neither did Wolf Company. W were going t be done with war after this, but now it was a matter of the rest of the guys, including Easy.

Who had points to go home, or who didn't have enough and will be sent into battle. Again.

"There." Shifty whispered to me, the both of us stopping and placing our rifles up quietly to look through our scopes. Slightly to the right and down a small slope, there was a young buck there, eating off the pad of grass that was there. He didn't hear us yet, and we both were waiting for the right moment to shoot the buck. I stayed quiet but looked over at him, seeing him watch me too for a quick second before he raised his eyebrow at me, signaling for me to take the shot. I looked back trough the scope and then placed the finger on the trigger.

This reminded me of being back in the woods with my Uncle in Colorado, only the two of us using our ears and eyes to hunt for an animal. He would teach me most of the things he knew when we would walk together, rifles on our shoulders, and the cool autumn air hitting us hard in the deep woods. I missed those times with my Uncle, not having my mother to breathe down my back, or the constant working to make her happy for me. This moment with Shifty felt like the same thing: he had no care if I was good enough. He knew I was, and he just wanted me to have some company and companionship there. It was a good distraction that morning: No Ron to sulk over, no future to worry about, and no heart to start breaking.

I took the shot and the buck fell to the ground.

* * *

"Where are you gonna go, Kit?" Shifty asked me as we walked together, shoulder to shoulder with the bucks dragging behind us. We tied the hooves together and had the neck in a noose, the both of us pulling together and combining our strength to get it back to the jeep we left parking outside the forest on the dirt path.

"Probably home, they won't let Wolf Company go into battle at the Pacific." I replied to him, the both of us walking and me shifting the weight of the rope on my shoulder now.

"Why not?" He asked me, sounding a bit off from what I was telling him.

"Well, they almost didn't let us go to the war here, We were too much of a risk for them to take since we're an all women group." I reminded him, having me remember that I was almost having the same conversation with Joe some days earlier out on the dock at the lake.

"Wouldn't they see by now Wolf Company is a good aspect to the war?" Shifty questioned aloud as we could see the jeep ahead of us, parking along the road and being nice and peaceful, "I mean, if you think about it, Wolf Company did help out plenty of times when we were in trouble."

"Tell that to the higher superiority that has a patriarchy gun up their asses." I joked with him, heading him chuckle as we reached the jeep. We both got the buck into the back seat with some effort, having me breathe out in relief as we both sat in the driver and passenger seat of the jeep, not going anywhere just yet as I looked over at Shifty. He still had the boyish kind look to his face, it wasn't hardened over from the war and what happened to the rest of the guys, he made it out without barely a burden to see on his skin or in his eyes. Shifty was the lucky one, very lucky.

"What about you, Shifty?" I asked him, placing my hands on the wheel and eyeing him there on his seat, "You going home?"

"Not anytime soon, I"m afraid." I cringed a bit when he answered me since he was trying to make it sound casual and calm, "I don't have the points?"

"How did that happen?" I asked him, not understanding how he of all people would still be needing to fight.

"Never was wounded, not once in the whole war." He replied, twiddling his thumbs on his lap and not seemed too heartbroken about it. But I was since it meant that my best friend in Easy Company was going to be sent off to war and he had no choice in the matter. Hell, it bothered me to the point of wanting to find a way to get him out of going over there and being killed. Not that he would have any kind of problem being there, he was a great soldier, he could take care of himself. But then again, The Pacific could be completely different than Europe. I didn't want him to be sent to his deathbed.

I had to think of a plan.

* * *

I threw the doors open and walked into the lobby of one of the apartment buildings, I knew most of the guys were going to be there that I wanted to talk to about the plan I was hatching for Shifty. On the five back with Shifty, I thought of a way to make sure he was not going to be anywhere near the fighting the Pacific. So I walked in and turned the corner, seeing the group of boys that I wanted to talk to. There was Buck, Luz, Cobb, Babe, Christenson and a couple of theories inclusion Webster and Sisk there, all talking and playing a round of cards with some of them smoking and the others drinking. I walked in, seeing them all make eyes with me and stop their game, shooting up to attention as I joined them in the lobby.

"At ease," I told him kindly, seeing them all smile at me and sink back into their seats, "Gentlemen, I have a proposition that I wish to bring forth to you."

"We're listening, ma'am." Buck said to me in intrigue, the others stopping their game of poker and watching me now with curious eyes.

"You know that the anniversary of the war is coming up, and on that day we are holding a lottery as to who gets to go home, points or no points." I reminded them all, seeing them nod their heads.

"Winters told us this morning at breakfast." Christenson said to me with a grin on his face.

"So, I was thinking….we rig the lottery." No one said a single word as I said this to them, they all were in stunned silence as I was waiting for them to say something in my scheme.

"You know…what you're saying…could be rule breaking and could get you in trouble, Captain." Buck said to me carefully now, still in shock and it was there on his face for me to see. I nodded my head, since I too was thinking about it carefully within my own head and how I could be in serious trouble for doing something like this really. But then again, at this point, I had no real reason to be tiptoeing around the officers now since I was going to be sent home whether I liked it or not, and away from Easy whether I liked it or not. That was going to be another day for me to tell them.

"I know that, Lieutenant. But I'm more concerned about the candidate I had in mind and his well being than where I am going to be within the next few days of weeks." I reminded him, seeing him scan my eyes and see I was telling the truth then.

"How are we gonna do it?" Babe asked me from his spot next to Cobb, who already looked agitated from what we were talking about. Hell, he always looked agitated.

"We all have a mutual agreement on who we want to send home, ten at the lottery, none of us put in our numbers. Only the one we choose places in his numbers, and if anyone else goes against the plan, we just tiptoe right be them," I explained to the group, all of them thinking to each other. I could see that most of them were agreeing to the plan, and I grinned as well since I thought it was going to be worse on my part to convince them to give up their own chances of going home early. Now I had to convince them as to who it was that I wanted to go home in place of one of them.

"So who did you have in mind, then?" Luz asked, shifting in his chair to watch me now and a cigarette hanging out of his mouth and on his lips.

"Shifty," I said to him, seeing small grins on their faces then. "We went hunting this morning and he told me he is far behind on his own points to going home."

"Compared to some of us." Cobb muttered under his breath, but Buck shot him a glare.

"Oh, shut it, Cobb," he barked at Cobb, then looking at me with his piercing blue eyes and then smiling. It was glad they were on board for Shifty, having me see things were coming back around for me in the end and it was no longer going to be sad and depressing for me.

"We'll tell the others," Luz reassured me as the other nodded, "We got it from here, Kit."

And they did.

* * *

By the time the ceremony came, honoring the anniversary that we started the war, we all were dressed in our dress greens in our Companies and awaiting to hear who was going to be sent home. I was with the Captains at the front, dressed in my Wolf Company dress greens as Ron was the one who was chosen to read off the number. I watched next to Welsh as he reached into the army helmet, with only one slip of paper in there since the rigging was going in my favor.

By the time I was coming to dinner, all of Easy except Shifty knew the plan and they were for it, of course. It took some convincing with others, one being Cobb since he was already a pain in the ass, but he reluctantly gave in and Shifty was going to be sent home. My name was out of their mouths, the stuck by me since I wasn't going to be snitched as the original planner of the rigging. Thank God, but then again, I was a bit happy to think about it really. Who better to be sent home and deserve it was Shifty Powers.

We all smiled as Ron said the number out loud, then the boys were hooting for a stunned Shifty and grinning at him. He looked beyond shocked, so shy in his spot with his rifle hosted on his shoulder and I grinned too in silence. I was glad my friend was going to be safe and away from any kind of harm that would come our way, he needed to be home. All of us could see it, especially me. But that also meant that I was going to have to say goodbye to him, and that was going to kill me.

After the ceremony was over, I caught Ron looking over at me with those hopeful eyes again, maybe in hopes that I was going to be civil with him. Not like before when I was giving him the silent treatment or the sink eye when we would pass in the town. I was beyond that now since good things were happening to me and I was no longer in pain. Those wounds were turning into faint scars and bruises, no longer open wounded that were sore and moist. I just gave him one nod and a small smile, thinking that I myself had to grow and be a better person than all of this, all of the stupid teenage bullshit that I thought I could do. I only gave him one small smile, to show that I was going to be at least civil to him, and I walked away before I could see him smile back.

I had to make the change, for the better.

* * *

I knocked on the door with my knuckles, seeing Winters look over and see me there waiting to come out onto the balcony with him. He smiled and motioned for me to come, having me walk over with my hands behind my back now as I saw his view of the lake were I was once was with Joe days before, the sun gleaming down and making the area look more like a picture than anything really.

"You wanted to see me, sir?" I asked him.

"Yes, I did, Captain. I got word from Major Jacobs that you are going to be transferred back to the states." He explained to me lightly with a small smile on his face as I nodded.

"I am, sir," I replied back to him, "Major Jacobs sees no real future for Wolf Company to be in the war in the Pacific, as do I, sir."

"Which is a real shame, since Wolf Company has done great work here in Europe with our men and countless others." Winters added.

"Well, who am I to argue with the superior officers that have our fate in their hands, sir?" I asked him, seeing him think to himself about it and agree with me.

"Very true. I wanted to talk to you about it, what you were thinking about that whole situation." Winters explained to me now, sounding more like I dad than anything really. I thought about it for a moment or two, not knowing how I was going to place it right and not sound mean or cross. But I just smiled, thinking I really came so far in this whole war that nothing was really going to scare me when it came to telling him how I felt.

"Sir, I am a bit disappointed that they wish for me to leave Easy Company, but I am thankful that I got to work with you boys for these past few years," I explained to him with a small smile there on my lips, "If it was any other Company, they would not have treated me with the same kindness and respect that Easy had shown me since they have met me in Fort Benning."

"Is that so?" He asked, not in a challenging way, but with intrigue there on his face since he was interested in what I was telling him.

"Yes, sir. I never had….a real great family life growing up…and I still don't," I felt bad for saying this to him really since it felt like I was being a total teenager about it and not a respectful officer, "So Easy Company has been the closest thing to a family that I have ever had in a real long time, sir. I thought you should know before I head home that…I am honored to have worked with Easy all these years." Winters just smiled at me then after what I told hm, having me feel a bit like I was placed under the microscope and he was waiting for me to break down into tears or something of that nature. But he just smiled, not showing any kind of sadness or meanness from what I said to him.

"Well, I was honored to have you in my Company, Captain Kit. Our men are very thankful for you work and dedication, and some of them are still alive because of you." He reminded me, having me see that he really meant it. I knew I saved some lives, and it must have made me him really grateful for me since the count of lost men was very few for Easy. He was a great leader, not wanting death to come and take his men left and right. I prevented that, for me to see on his face that he was glad for that, made me know that my efforts were not in vain.

"Thank you, sir." I thanked him whole-heartedly, not wanting to sound like a stern Captain like before. No, I wanted him hear it in my voice that I was grateful for what he said and what he did for me for the past few years. He treated me like one of his own, made sure I was looked after and I could handle anything that came by the way. Hell, I was surprised he didn't bring up the inside where I broke down in tears back at Landsburg, but I would think he didn't want to bring up another sour incident in the past.

We heard footsteps coming our way from inside the room, having us both look over to see it was none other than Shifty, still in his own dress greens from earlier that day when he was told he was going home, and Winters and I grinned as he approached us at the balcony. Shifty locked eyes with me first, and then went over to Winters with his warm brown eyes.

"Don't mean to interrupt you, sir. I just want uh…say goodbye." He said to Winters as I took a step back to have the both of them talk together, "You know…it's uhh…you was ugh….Well, it's been a long time." Shifty was trying to get it together with his words and how he was going to talk to Winters there, having me lean next to the balcony a bit and watch as he was looking at our Major with hesitant eyes and Winters smiling at him, giving him the same kind stare that he gave me moments before.

"You got anything you need?" Winters asked him

"Yes sir, I gathered all my loot. Pistols, mainly," He said with a grin, having me smile too, "Paperwork's all done. I even got my back pay in my pocket." He passed again, thinking about what he was going to say and how he was going to say it since he looked more hesitant about the whole day, "Back…back home in Virgina…Well…I just don't, rightly know how I'm going t explain all of this." I looked at Shifty hesitantly now, as well as Winters since that was another thing we all were going have to go through when we went home back to the states. How were we going to tell our families, friends, what we saw and experienced? Was there even a way to do so? Was it even possible? It didn't seem like it at all, and poor Shifty was going to be the first one to do so.

"You see I…I've seen…I've seen." He couldn't even put it together to explain it, and I could see it on his face that he was going to be haunted by what he did. He had no bad bone in his body, but he was going to be wrecked from top to bottom. Winters finally spoke up to break the tension we knew was there.

"You're a hell of a fine soldier, Shifty," he said in confidence to him and a small smile there, "There's nothing more to explain." Shifty was thinking to himself as Winters said this, having me tilt my head and hope to wonder what was going on in his head. He just smiled at Winters now, giving him a small smile.

"Thank you, sir," He thanked him and gave him a salute. Winters saluted back, and then they both shook hands then and there. Shifty then walked over to me now, having me moved from leaning against the balcony and standing straight with him now as he grinned at me from ear to ear.

"I wanted to thank you, Captain Kit, for being a great leader for us to look after." He said to me as he was sounded so kind and sincere about it. I only grinned at him, trying so hard not to cry in front of him and Winters because I knew this would be the last time Shifty and I would be together as friends. I would miss him terribly from seeing him all the time to our talks. Hell. he was the first to know about Gerald and I, we fought together as partners with our sniper skills, and we were the closest of friends. He was the best friend I always wanted when I was younger, and even after the death of Beta, he was still the hold me up when I wanted to collapse.

"Thank you, Shifty, for being a great leader for the others to follow and make an example of. You're a great friend to me and others." I reminded him, seeing him grin at me as I held out my hand for him to shake, only wanting to be proper about it more than anything really. But he just gave me a hug instead, having me take a few steps back and hug him back from the sudden force on me because of him. I hugged him back, not saying another word about it since if I did, I would cry in front of him. He gave me a fierce hug, not saying a word himself really before he pulled away and looked at him dead on in the face. I saw that Winters felt the balcony, giving us space, making me grateful for Winters and his social cues.

"Let me know how you are, okay?" He asked me, having me nod my head, "You're my best friend, before anything else, you know that, right?"

"I know, Shifty." I reassured him, seeing him fame my face in his hands to scan my eyes with me. It didn't feel like I was a Captain anymore, just a girl with her best guy friend.

"You're stronger than you every gave yourself credit for, you know that. Don't be a stranger to me, please don't." He asked me in a level tone.

"I would never, Shifty. You've helped me out plenty in this war, I don't think I would have survived if you haven't helped me." I explained to him calmly there on that balcony, "I'll write to you and phone you when I get home."

"You better, I'm keeping that as a promise." He said to me as we hugged once more. This was hurting me, burning that aching pain that I had of rejection and letting go of my friends, that I wanted to keep. Shifty wasn't dying, he was just going home to be safe. This was part of the plan, and I had or remind myself that I had to let him go and have him get his own life together.

I was going to see him again, I knew that for certain.

* * *

Late one morning, after getting some breakfast inside of me and having some energy back in my system, I was going to go on my solo hunting session since Shifty was already long gone from the town. After he left, I went out hunting on my own to clear my own head. it wasn't the same without Shifty there, but I knew he was going to be fine. Now I had to think of myself really and how I was going to deal with certain things in my life that I had to fix.

One, being Ron. But that was on the back burner.

It surprised me to see Joe, Webster and young Sisk walking together over to one of the jeeps. At first, I thought it was nothing, that they were going to have another joy riding session that plenty of the other boys to do int he small town, but something was off. Joe looked pissed, more like he was on a mission. Webster looked reluctant, like hew as being dragged into it, and Sisk too looked a bit out of it really. I wondered what was going on since they all looked rigid and not like they were having another day in paradise. I shuffled my rifle back along my backside and walked over to them as Sisk hopped in the driver's seat now and Webster in the back. I caught Joe before he could get in the jeep.

"Heya, boys," I said to the three of them, Joe still hard and grave in his spot as the others almost perked up a bit as I eyed them all, "Where are you off it?" I asked them all in interest.

"We got a tip-off," Sisk said softly though Joe shot him a look now to stop him up and poor Sisk was now quiet.

"What kind of tip-off?" I asked him carefully, seeing him look at Joe. Webster stayed quiet as Joe eyed me then, the look of hate was back on his face.

"It's nothing." He replied shortly with me.

"Excuse me?" I asked, seeing him cringe a bit.

"It's nothing, ma'am." He replied back to me, eyeing me and silently asking me to drop it.

"Clearly it doesn't look like nothing to me." I said to him, keeping my voice level to Joe but yet I as telling him with my own eyes to let me in and help him if I could. He stayed still, not letting me in just yet, just in time for Webster to speak up.

"We got a tip that a German Officer is hiding out in a location near the town, on his own. Joe was ordered to eliminate him." Webster explained to me now softly, having me see Joe look angrier since he was rated out by Webster. I knew Joe had a thing against the Germans now because of what happened back at the camps, and I couldn't blame him since it was his own Race, his own people, that were killed for no real reasons. He had a hard heart now, and I had no real reason to change it. So for him to be signed to do something like this, he could make it worse than it was because he too was brash and a wildcard when it came to fighting and killing. I didn't want him to get in trouble than he would already be in, and I had to look out for him. So I sighed, getting the rifle off my back now and walking over to the jeep and hopping in the back with Webster as Joe looked at me with a raised eyebrow, still looking angry, but now shocked from what I was doing.

"What are you doing, Captain?" he asked me in his low tone.

"Might as well come alone, to make sure you don't do anything stupid, Joe." I replied smoothly, seeing Webster and Sisk eye each other in shock as Joe walked over to me with his sulking kind of walk.

"You coming with me as a Captain to protect me, is that it?" He asked me in frustration. I shook my head at him now since I could tell he was once again looking to pick a fight with me.

"No," I replied to him now softly and kindly, "I'm going as your friend to protect you." His face softened a bit, not fighting back with me now as I smiled at him carefully. I wanted to go as his friend, not as his Captain because he needed a friend more than someone to push him down. He then moved to the passenger seat as Sisk got the engine going and we drove.

Joe promised to look after me, now it was my turn to do the same.


	35. Chapter 35

"Lieb, I fuckin' hate this." I was sitting there, looking at the very small cabin that they took us to, and already I could see this was going to be a problem between Webster and Joe. I knew they would bicker with each other, I've seen it. But this would probably be the worst fight that they would ever have. Joe looked angry, not at Webster, but at the fact that we were at a cabin that apparently was holding up there to hide from us.

"Oh, Jesus Christ," Joe muttered back to Webster who was already looking green in the face,"They fingered him. One of the Polacks at the slave camps said this is where he lives."

"Which camp?" Webster shot back at him.

"Whatever camp. I'm under direct orders and I'm happy to follow it." Joe barked back at him with the growl on his face and lips. Sisk was quiet as Joe exited the jeep without saying another word, already walking along the path to the top of the hill where the cabin was. I could see smoke there in coming from the chimney, already showing me that the officer was sill there. Sisk followed behind Joe like an obedient puppy, having Webster and I wait there in the jeep now and I looked over at Webster, who closed his eyes in defeat. I didn't like this either because I knew this could turn Joe dark within seconds and that was not the Joe I knew and called a friend. I only came to make sure he wasn't going to go too far down the abyss of hate, and I sighed in defeat as I grabbed my rifle and got out of the jeep. Webster did the same, the both of us jogging up to catch up with Joe and Sisk who were a bit ahead of us when Webster spoke agin.

"Is this a personal thing, Joe?"Webster asked him in wonder now as we picked up the pace to be with them on their trek along the dirt path and green grass.

"What?" Joe asked, not following.

"Is this personal to you?" Webster tried again.

"No, it's a Goddamn order."

"Does Major Winters know?" Webster asked him, having me watch next to Sisk with hesitancy now.

"Doesn't matter." Joe replied.

"The fuck it doesn't." Webster countered with him, having me see Joe roll his eyes and snarl under his own breath, "What if this guy's just a soldier? What if he's an officer who no ties to the SS? What if he's innocent?" Joe stopped walking and looked at him directly in the eyes with hate now, pistol at his side and his finger already on the trigger.

"You know what? What if he's a fucking Nazi officer who was in commandment of a slave camp?" Joe questioned Webster in a low and threatening manner. I pulled Sisk back a bit to not have him involved, and we both waited and gave them space to just glare and talk it out. I had to remind myself, I was only going to help them as a friend, not as a Captain. Not yet. I would only have to use that kind of power if I knew it was going to be out of control.

"Which one?! Which camp?! You don't have any proof!" Webster retaliated now, having me see Sisk roll his eyes again and try not to look at the small spit fight they were having.

"Were you at Landsburg?" Joe asked in a calmer manner, his eyes though were still threatening to Webster.

"You know I was." Webster replied back calmly.

"You think he's a soldier like you and me? Fucking innocent German officer?" Webster looked away and scoffed as Joe asked him this, having me see that he was no longer going to put up this fight with Joe anymore, "Where the hell have you been for the past three years." Joe walked off, still mad as hell in his walk as I walked over to Webster, placing a hand on his shoulder now to see that he was being frustrated in the whole situation.

"You're fine, Web. Let him be." I said to him, not as a commandment, but as encouragement. Webster knew how to keep his cool, compared to Joe of all people he knew how to control it. I wasn't worried about Webster, I was worried about Joe at this point as Joe placed his hand on the door handle.

"Joe." I called to him, still a bit away from him now as he eyed me too, the hate was still there on his face as I jogged over to him now, Sisk and Webster joining me as I looked at Joe's eyes to see what he was thinking.

"You gonna stop me now, Captain?" Joe asked in a low growl.

"No, since you won't listen to anyone really," I replied back calmly and in a low tone so only he could hear, seeing him scoff and look away before I talked to him again, "I'm telling you, right now as a friend, really reconsider what you are about to do."

"What? Follow orders?" He asked me, having me shake my head and how stubborn he was being.

"No, consider the fact that this to going to haunt you for the rest of your life…trust me." I knew what it felt like to be haunted by past demons and past bloodshed that was on my hands. Joe was going to have to go through that now, and I would rather him not do it and be in pain from the past images and memories than anything else. So still had a good sense of hope left in him, and I didn't want him to lose it.

"Look, if you don't want any part of it, then I suggest you stay outside." He said to me now, no longer sounding angry with me, but calm and collected him he could tell what I was asking from him. I sighed, knowing that was no talking to him at this point and I nodded, moving away from him and propping myself up against one of the wooden pillars that held the roof. He looked away from me now as Webster and Sisk joined him, the three of them bursting the door open and they went inside.

All I had to do now was wait.

I didn't want to have anything to do with what they were going to do, I only came as support, which sounded stupid by them since I could already hear Joe screaming at the man in German. He asked him if he was an officer and a commander at a camp, and it made me cringe. Joe was hurt from what happened to the Jews in the camp, and it felt like he was on the warpath to somehow making whoever was alive and had something to do with it, pay with their own lives. It didn't sit right with me, and I kind of wished now I didn't some with them. But then again, if something was to go wrong and go south real quick, I would rather be there and protect them than to leave them fending for themselves.

"Don't fucking lie to me!" They were screaming again, at least Joe was since I heard nothing from Sisk or Webster. I wonder what they were thinking about at that moment when I heard Joe scream at the top of his lungs, "See what you did to my fucking people! That's it!"

Webster finally came out of the cabin, looking more shaken than ever as he walked over to me without saying a single word and almost like he was about to be on the verge of tears. I watched silently as he was slowly and shakily fishing out a cigarette from his pocket and then lighting it, I could see the stick between his lips trembling as he inhaled. Poor Webster, always the calm one who was stuck between a rock and a hard place.

"You okay, Web?" I asked him as he exhaled through his shaking lips. HIs piercing blue eyes looked lighter from the sun but more haunted than anything.

"I'll tell you in a second." He replied in a shaky manner as the door opened again, Sisk coming out this time and the yelling was still heard behind the closed door. Sisk walked over to the pair of us now, looking a bit more innocent than the rest of us really as he spoke to us.

"He's guilty." He said, "Liebgott says so."

"Than he probably is." Webster replied smoothly then, having me cringe a bit and how these boys were handling it. Then out of nowhere, inside the house, a gunshot was heard and we all jumped from the sudden noise. Webster was the one who jumped the biggest and Sisk looked at the door now in wonder to what happened. I had my hand on my hip where my pistol was, in case something did go wrong.

The door was thrown open, the three of us looking to see the German officer running out in a stagger motion, blood on his neck, and he was bolting or the hills. Joe was right after him, running with a vengeance, as he was trying to shoot, but there were no more bullets left in his own pistol. He cocked it, aiming one more time as the German officer kept running and was getting farther away. I wanted to help, but then again this was not my fight anymore. This was with the boys, not me.

"Damn son of a bitch." He grumbled as he tried to get his pistol working, looking back at Webster, "Shoot him."

Webster didn't move, not at all. I watched with my hands away from my pistol now as the German Officer was now a bit farther for a pistol to get him and Joe was looking angrier at the thought of losing this man. He looked back at Webster again with hate spewing from his eyes and voice.

"SHOOT HIM!" He bellowed in hate. But Webster remained cool and calm.

"No." He replied calmly now. Joe was furious since he was getting away and Joe had nothing to do now. I was still then when another gunfire was heard, the German was shot in the back and he fell to the floor to his death. Joe and Webster looked at me at first, having me still have no weapon in my hand and then we all looked over, seeing Sisk lower his rifle and not saying a word himself.

The deed was done.

Joe sighed and then looked over at me now, the calmness was coming over him now as he was eyeing me with Sisk next to me placing his rifle on his shoulder again.

"Why didn't you take the shot?" He asked me in wonder and out of breath from all that happened. Webster and Sisk looked at each other now and walked back over to the jeep as I eye Joe with a firm look on my lips.

"I have too much blood on my hands, Joe. I wasn't going to add anymore to it. And I wasn't going to contribute to your bidding." I replied calmly, turning on my heel and walking away from him now. I didn't want anything to do with that since I had enough on my ledger to haunting me for the rest of my life and then some.

This would have been the tipping point for me, and it already was for Joe.

On the ride back down the hill, none of us said a single word, Joe drove the jeep with a stern look back on his face, Webster looked out of it and in deep thought, which left Sisk and I just staring at the road ahead. The next two sentences that were said pretty much summed up what Joe was thinking about, and how Webster viewed this war as well.

"Officers don't run." Joe reminded us, mainly Webster.

"War's over. Anyone would run."

* * *

Days were blurring in and out, and all we wanted to do was go home. I could see it on the men's face, how they talked to one another about what they would do once they got home, they were getting too agitated and were sitting still for far too long. But it left me to wonder how I was dealing with it myself. Did I even want to go home? Where was home for me? How was I going to survive that place? I still had Joe's offer: living with him and his family in San Francisco in order to just breathe and get out of there. Was I still willing to do that? To invade Joe's life in order to have my own, me repaired again? I had more thinking to do on that part.

After running another session of drills for my men in my squad, I was notified that I was going to be moving out within two days to head back to Wolf Company that was still in England. They were going to take back via plane since the Germans already surrendered in Europe and we were no longer going to have that threat over us. I knew I was going to have to talk to the others about it, and I even had a small little get together planned in my own room for it as a celebration. I thought it would make it lighter for them to say goodbye to me, than me dropping it on them while they were eating or going through another round of training and routine gun rounds.

One of the later mornings, I was going on another walk to try and figure out what I was going to do as soon as I was heading home, needing that alone time though it would be deadly for me in the end. That night I was going to tell the others in Easy that I was leaving within days, and since I was already freaking out about that part of the get-together, I was trying to figure it all out in my head on how I was going to tell them. Joe said nothing, thankfully, and Winters didn't say a word either.

"Kit?" I looked up, hearing my name from in front of me, since I was too occupied with my thoughts and I was looking at the cobbled street below me and where my boots were going. I looked up, to see it was none other than Ron Spiers, looking right at me with his warm eyes and a soft look on his face, no longer hard like he used to have them. It was odd to see him outside a Captain's meeting, or just walking around in general since I've been trying to avoid him at all costs. But this time, instead of wanting to spew hate on him from all over me because of what he did and how he hurt me, I was just seeing him once again, as an old friend that I haven't seen in quite a long time.

I wanted to hate him for what he did, I really wanted to. But there was no more hate within me to spew to him, I was running on empty with that emotion. I never wanted it in the first place, since I had to deal with Joe and his slowly decent into madness with the German Officer, along with other men who were trying to find some kind of entertainment in the little town that was going into Summertime now. Ron there, in front of me, had me really now see him differently, both in a good way and in a bad way.

"Captain Spiers." I replied back to him, no longer in bitterness but with some gentleness. I could see it on his face: regret. He was affected on what happened between us back in Landsburg, and I could tell he's been trying to find the right way to make this right between us. I was the same way, I really was.

"I wanted to talk to you, just for a few minutes." He said to me, searching my eyes to see if I was going to let him in once again like before it all went to Hell.

"Ron…" I started, seeing that I had no real energy to deal with this. He wanted to mend that he broke, and he was trying to make sure I was willing to listen. Somehow, I had no more energy to listen, not yell, but just listen to him.

"Please, just hear me out on what I have to say about what I did," I said nothing as he was almost practically begging me to stop and listen to his explanation. I could see it was regretting it, and he was trying to hard not to show his emotions in front of me before he would fall apart again. I owed him that much, to hear with he had to say to me. I was not going to be the bitch in this conversation, I had to give him some time to explain. If I had any kind of decency left in me, I would use it now with Ron.

"Okay."

* * *

"You were married?" I asked him, not raising my voice anymore as we were sitting across from each other at one of the abandoned cafe, no one inside and it was already all looted out from the others in the company. Neither one us wanted to eat though nor did we want a drink. We needed a talk, and it felt safer for me to be inside with him than out in the open since others could see us talking to another and think it was another sort of taboo. Ron sighed as he folded his hands on top of the table and he watched me, making sure I wasn't going to strike him or yell at him again.

"I was, yes," he replied back carefully now, "I met a woman in England before we jumped in Normandy. It was right after we arrived."

"And you stayed married to her, even after we left?" I asked him, still trying to fit the pieces together and see if it was fitting right in my head, "You're still married to her?"

"I did, because at the time I was, in fact, in love with her." He explained to me, having me think back at that time where we were in our own relationship. Neither one of confessed to liking the other, so it seemed natural to me to not be angry with him because of that.

"I saw no ring on our finger, though." I said to him, not in a mean way, but like a statement.

"I didn't want to flaunt my marriage to others and have it be the talk among the Companies." He explained, having me eye him now with a bitterness there on my tongue.

"Even me?" I pushed, seeing him eye me now and watch me as I was trying to just compose myself from yelling at him again.

"Yes…even you, Kit. I was too concerned on your view of me and how you would think of me." He explained slowly to me, the hurt was still there on his face now as I breathed out slowly to calm myself down.

"So, you stayed married, even after you kissed me back in Foye," I stated to him, not hearing anything on his end of the table now as I was trying to place it all in my head, "Why didn't you tell me, at least let me know that you were….you…"

"I never wanted to hurt you, Kit. Not one bit." He said to me, and I could see him shifting his eyes over to where my own hands were on the table very close to me. He wanted to reach out, I could see it, but he didn't want another replay of me pushing him away.

"But you did, Ron," I said to him as a statement, "You did hurt me. I'm not mad at you for how you did it, but I'm just mad that you were thinking me as some….kind of source for comfort—"

"Christ no, Kit." He cut me off when I mentioned me being used by him. I was trying not to cry about it, since it was still some of pain that he would kiss me and yet have a wife on the side, "I would never, ever do that to you."

"Then please tell me, what was it that made you want to kiss me and still have a wife?" I asked him calmly, and yet I could feel the anger rising up within me again.

"I was in a hard place when I kissed, hard and dark place," He said to me, having me look away from him and shake my head since I knew the excuses were going to come, "And at that point in my life I wasn't even in love with my wife anymore..I drifted from her."

"Yet you stayed." I stayed to him again like I did before.

"I had to stay with her, and I still have to now." He said to me, hearing the sadness there in his voice now, "Because….I had a child with her. I had a son."

It made me pause, pause and think over and over on how this could be even worse as it was now. Not only was he married, but now he had a son with his wife…and here he was, kissing me and making me feel like I was worth it in his eyes. It made no sense, and it make sense, all at the same time. I only wished that this was a dream, that I would wake up and think I was about to have another good day, not a bad one.

"So…you have a wife and a child." I stated to him very slowly and calmly without moving or showing any kind of anger there. I hated this, beyond hated this, and Ron could see it in how I was sitting and trying to hide it.

"I know you hate me," he said to me, having me bit my lip from lashing at him, "Hell I know you want me dead—"

"Shut up," I said to him bluntly, seeing him go silent and then look right at me as I took a shaky breath, "Ron, I really don't like you right now, but I could never hate you." He looked at me in shock as I said this to him. It sounded morbid coming from me since he already placed me through hell and back.

"You don't hate me?" He asked me, trying to make sure he got it right, "You should hate me, _beyond_ hate me."

"Ron, I don't have any more energy to hate someone, that's not who I wanted to be: someone who hates." I had to emphasize that word to him as he was still looking at me in awe from what I was telling him, "I more disappointed in myself, in how I would fall for someone without even being the slightest of careful—"

"It was my fault for doing that to you, and after all you told me about your past.." Once he brought up my past, I felt the sadness coming over me now and as I rubbed my face with my fingers and the palms of my hands in frustration. I looked back at the window again, breathing out through my nose and closing my eyes in defeat.

"I never wanted to put you through any kind of pain." He reasoned with me and yet my eyes were still closed and still hurt with hot tears.

"Then why did you?" I asked him bitterly now, "Why did you kiss me?"

"Because I cared for you," I eyed him again, the tears were there on my cheeks for him to see as I crossed my arms there in front of me, no longer having them on the table like before, "I did care for you, more than I would ever care for another person. I tried to reconsider my feelings for you even after I got even and even after my son was born, I tried to tell myself that I was married and I had a wife. But it always led back to you, every single time, I was lead back to you."

"Did you even love me?" I asked him in almost a croak since it felt like he would have that kind of feeling towards me after all we through together in the war. I thought I was in love with him myself once, how I felt when we were close and how we would talk to one another.

"I thought I did, at one time." Ron replied back, having me nod at him once and bite my lower lip from wanting to yell at him again. Ron sighed and rubbed his own face, trying to find some kind of way to make this better for me. He then got up from his chair, walking over to where I was before he sunk down, going on both go his knee to face me close then and have me see the hurt on his face, along with the lack of his shaving and the lack of sleep under his eyes. He was suffering, and I didn't know whether it was from what he did to me or the war itself.

"Kit, I don't know how you can ever find it in yourself to forgive me for what I did, and how I treated you and made you feel like you are worthless to me, because you're not. You're far too dear to me, and I forgot that from what I did. All I can do and beg is for you to still see me as a friend." Ron pleaded with me now, my hands were back in my lap now and I was looking at him with such a miserable look on my face.

He was right: there was no way I could fully forgive him for how he made me fell after he revealed that he was married. He saw that, he saw his own fault there. But now it was up to me and how I was going to react to it that would make all the difference in the world. At that point, I was no longer wanting to be a killer, both physically and of friendships. I wanted to be good more than evil, and it was up to me, not the training and what happened in my past.

"I can't fully forgive you, Ron," I said to him in my low tone, watching him now gaze up at me since I was still in my chair, "But…I don't want to lose my friend either."

"You won't." He said immediately, looking at my hands once more before tentatively reaching out with one. This time, I didn't move my hand away as he placed his hand over the both of mine that was still in my lap, "You won't lose me as your friend."

"I still don't trust you though." I reminded him.

"And you have every right not to trust me. I will still try and earn that back, no matter how long it takes." He reaffirmed me, a painful smile was on his face again as he knew that our conversation was now done. He betrayed me, and now he was going to try and win back my trust again. We were going to stay friends, damaged, but friends none the less.

I was done fighting.

* * *

That night, I was going to go on a supply run with Grant in the jeep with me along with two privates. I had to get my own supplies together before I would go back to the town and have my talk with the boys. I wanted to have them all together before I would go away from them for good. It was going to be a rough night, and I was already having a rough day from having my talk with Ron. He left me alone for the rest of the day, which was fine by me because I needed to get my own shit together involving him.

"It's D-Day," Sergeant Grant says to the other two privates as I was deep in my own thoughts about that night and how it was going to go,"It's 2nd platoon's own Bill Guarnere. Old Gonorrhea himself. Just landed in Normandy and all wound up. 'Whose side are you on?', God what a character." He was retelling one of the stories as we were driving along in the cool summer night, the darkness overtaking the forest there as I was sitting in the passenger seat, seeing something ahead. There was two jeeps, one of one side of the road and the other on the opposite side, someone on the ground and another soldier standing up and looking a bit out of it as we were getting closer to him now.

"What happened to him?" One of the privates asked Grant as Grant too saw what was in front of us. He started to slow down on the accelerator, the jeep slowly coming to a halt in front of the sight before us. Once we stopped, I saw the soldier who was still standing as I got up slowly from my spot. I placed my hands on the window that was out now as the four of us were beyond quiet to see what was there in front of us.

"Got his leg blown off in Bastogne." Grant told him quietly, but his eyes were up ahead on what we were seeing.

"You boys stay in the jeep." I said to them all as I got out and slowly walked over. He was near the jeep now, and I could see there was a pistol in his hand as Grant slowly got up from his own seat.

"You okay, sir? You need some help?" I asked him cautiously now, seeing the glazed look on his face as he started to laugh. I looked back at Grant, who was watching the whole time

_What's wrong?_ He signed to me, having me shrug my shoulders.

_Stay there._ I signed back to him as the man spoke up, finally.

"They wouldn't give me any gas." He said in a slur, looking at the one body in front of me that I didn't see because of the darkness and I cringed a bit. It was a German body, having me let out a shaky breath as he said, "Krauts! I tried to explain…" He walked away from me now, and I took a few steps to follow him in case he was going to do something stupid.

"This fuckin' limey wouldn't listen!" He said, now pointing to another body that was an English officer now, dead in the path and he looked more dazed than ever, "I think he was a major." By this time, Grant was out of the jeep and walking over to me now slowly and carefully, standing behind me now as I found my voice again.

"Look, private, we have a problem here." I started with him until he locked eyes and it had me freeze. for some reason, it reminded me of how Gerald looked when he was drunk…like there was nothing I could do to stop him. Grant carefully reached out and grab my jacket and pulled me back to where he was, seeing that this guy can do some kind of harm now with a weapon in his hand.

"Do you have any gas?" he asked me nonchalantly. I cringed.

Oh shit.


	36. Chapter 36

"_Do you have any gas?" he asked me nonchalantly._

"_Why don't you give me your weapon?" I tried to reason, but he wasn't going to have it. Grant's hold on my jacket was tighter now_

"_Well, I guess I'll just use his jeep. I don't think he's gonna need it." He started to walk back to his own jeep now, having me not want to lose him and see him get nor more trouble. He already killed two others, and he was under the influence, so who knew what he was going to do next now. _

"_Wait a second, will ya?" I asked him, moving away from Grant for more than two step before he whirled around and aimed the gun at me, the noise going off and all I could see and feel was the pain. I fell to the floor as Grant called out to me before another shot was heard and nothing came from him. My leg collarbone was on fire, and all I was seeing was black._

_Once again, I was floating._

* * *

It felt like I was floating now, since for a second all I could feel was my collarbone being shattered and split open like it was a chicken bone to a dog. For some reason, I couldn't scream out, nor could I call for help since the shock of pain left me to lose my own breath and voice. Everything around me, was dark, beyond dark.

I had no idea where I was, but I started to dream.

I dreamed that I was back with the others in Fort Benning, with the others in Wolf Company. We were just meeting and getting to know each other for the first time, all I could hear and experience was laughter and a warm glow around the whole dream that was there for me. All smiles, all warmth and grace there, and there was not a single sign of pain or death. It was funny, how in my dreams all I had was happiness and a glowing presence of Joy, and yet in reality, all I could see was death.

I opened my eyes although things were blurry all around me and my breathing was shallow and scarce. There was immense pain on the collarbone, or what used to be my collarbone now as I was in some kind of room, musty and warm. Everything was giving a soft glow, and I could feel the sweatiness of my hands and face. Someone was placing an IV in my arm, another person was framing my face to see how I was looking. I could map out the face of who it was looking right over me now, the dark hair that was almost glowing a dark blue now and the thin lips that were barking orders to someone.

"Get me clean warm water to get the blood off the wound, don't shake her too much or we can loose more of the blood." I could hear Doc's voice ringing in the room we were in as I felt like I was sprawled out on a table or some sort.

"Her pulse is slowing down, we need to get the jeep her and quick," He said to someone, who was running off as he was framing my face and having me see him somewhat more clearly.

"Eugene…." I trailed off, seeing him shake his head since I was having the worst pain in my collarbone now.

"Easy, Kit. You need to stay quiet and not talk at all," He said to me calmly now, but I could see the look of panic on his face, "Your collarbone is shattered from the gunshot." I blinked a few times, all of it was coming back to me now as he looked over at someone who was close by.

"Spina, get me the morphine, now." He said now with a bit of more urgent than as he looked back at me, then his eyes going down to my collarbone area and I waited with my heavy eyes. It felt odd in that area of my body like something was off there and I couldn't explain it at all. But Doc could, I could see it on his face and how he was trying to keep his own together. He was usually good at staying calm in a situation with a wounded soldier, so this was new and it was scaring me.

"How bad is it?" I heard another voice, having me hear Spina from the other side of me as something was placed within me: the morphine. Slowly, I was feeling the warmth and hardly any pain coming through me, the drug was making it hard for me to stay awake now as it was making me want to sleep. But I didn't want to go to sleep, I only wanted to figure out what was going on with me and how I was going to make it since apparently I was in deep shit.

"He shot her in the collarbone, breaking it instantly. We need to get her out of here and that German Doctor who's looking at Grant. He might know." So I was shot, after all. I thought I dodged it, or somehow missed it completely. But then again I was in immense pain that could be killing me if it wasn't for the morphine. I didn't think it would be that bad at all, then again I thought I was beyond lucky to still be alive after taking a bullet to the chest.

I closed my eyes again since the morphine won that round.

* * *

The next time I was awake, I was still in pain with my broken collarbone, but I was in another room and I was now in a bed once again. It was still dark in the dead of night, and yet it felt like hours and hours went by now. The morphine must have worn off since the pain was back in my collarbone and almost all over my body now, yet once again I couldn't move at all. Someone was next to my bed now, at least two others were at the moment.

"Kit? You awake?" It was Ron this time, next to me in the bed now as he was watching me carefully. He looked like he was punched in the gut in how he was looking at me, even holding my hand through the whole time and how my IV was still in my hand there. It made me more worried about how I was doing with that look he was giving me, Doc was somewhere in the corner, looking just as worried for me that Ron was with his hand making a fist over his mouth and his eyes stern at me now. The third person, in the room that was writing down something, was a doctor. I didn't recognize him at all, and he looked older in his years as he walked over to be next to Ron who was sitting in a chair near me. It was like we were in a relationship, Ron holding my hand to calm me down yet I was stuck in one position because of the intense pain and agony I was feeling on my chest.

"Do you need more morphine?" He asked me, a thick German accent rang in the room I was in. He was watching me carefully now, wearing his now pajamas from what I could see and a robe over his clothes, but he looked rather alert.

"I would give her more," Ron started, but at that point I found my voice again, thought it was raspy and sounded strained.

"What happened?"I asked him now, and ti came out more authoritative than anything. The doctor eyed Ron, who watched me gaze at the doctor for any kind of answer that he would give me and not beat around the bush with it. He sighed and gave him the clear to start explaining it.

"Captain, you were shot and your collarbone is beyond regular repair," He explained to me, having me try and follow with his accent, "Even your medic here and his great help with me, it is still not enough for you." I shot my eyes over to Doc, who still looked uneasy about it and was giving me a small but painful smile. He tried, according to the doctor, he tried so hard to mend me and make me better. But even this was out of his control.

"What about Grant?" I asked him through gritted teeth since the pain was heard in my voice now. The German doctor now walked over to grab something from his bag that as propped up on his nightstand and pulled something out of it, a small vial of what seemed to be morphine.

"Your friend was shot in the head, but I managed to get him stable enough that he will pull through." he explained to me as he was getting whatever he had in his hand ready to place in me. It pained me to hear what happened to Grant, almost making me want to scream out from hearing the news. How was it that I escaped from a broken collarbone, but he was shot in the head and almost killed if not having brain damage.

"The soldier…" I trailed off, squinting in pain from the morphine shot that he gave me.

"We're finding him." I liked over at Ron now, seeing him give me a stern stare and the way he spoke gave me a chill up and down my spine there. I could feel it: Ron was beyond mad at what happened to both myself and Grant now. I could see it in his eyes and how dark they turned, how he was sitting in the chair now hunched over but with a chip there on his shoulder. This could be bad, very bad, for both the soldier and for Ron himself since he looked like he was about to kill someone with his bare hands. This soldier better run tot he hills now since Ron was about to get him and rip him to shreds.

"She needs more rest as I look at her bones again, I don't want an infection to happen." The doctor explained to Ron now, his voice a bit lighter now since he seemed like he could tell this was going to be another awkward situation. I could feel the morphine working through me again, and I didn't want to go asleep now since I was worried about what Ron was going to do with this soldier who decided to shoot both Grant and myself. The sleepiness was singing into me now, having my vision looking more blurry and less clear now since the drug was working again.

"I'm going to find the others." Ron said to me now, and before I could even say anything to him to tell him to not do anything stupid since my voice was no gone from the drugs, He leaned over and kissed my head before unclenching my hand from his and storming out of the room. I wanted to stop him, but the drugs and the massive injury on my chest would stop me from doing so. I still didn't trust him, and I was till heartbroken from what he did to me, but I was still considering him a friend of mine that I would never want to experience darkness and pain. Ron was still human, and that could damage him permanently.

Doc walked over when he saw me reaching out after Ron since I was trying to find a way to stop him before he left and closed the doors behind him. Doc grasped my hand that was out in the air, bringing back that closeness that was once lost and he stay backing the chair Ron was in mere moments before. I gazed over at Doc now, having me see the fuzziness that was there again from the drugs and how I was about to fall back asleep again since all I wanted to do was find the others. Where was the rest of Easy? Did they know what was going on?

"Keep her still as much as you can, and we need to make the morphine work its magic." The doctor explained to Doc now as Doc nodded his head but still kept his eyes on me. I tried to stay awake for a few more moments, just to have Doc's face in my head since it did feel right, once again, I was about to die because of the pain and how graved everyone was looking at me right now. I thought the stabbing in the France was bad, but apparently this was worst since they had to bring in a German doctor to look at me over and see what he could do in order to fix me.

"Don't leave me Doc," It sounded so pathetic on how I worded it as I could feel myself falling asleep now, the war was all over me and the soothing sensation of the drugs kicking in. But I wanted multiple things at one time. For one, I didn't feel safe enough to be left alone at the mercy of one German Doctor since I barely knew him yet they were trusting him enough to work on me. Secondly, I had no idea if I was going to die from this because I knew what I was feeling in the wound was not normal, hell, it was beyond normal now. I really hoped that this was just another thing that I was going to get over and not have to rely on to make me a different person or soldier.

"I ain't going nowhere, Kit. I promise." He reassured me as I felt my eyes closing and my head spinning again from the goddamn drugs. He was still holding my hand as I went to sleep, once agin dreaming of the Wolf Company again and how free we were at the very beginning of the war.

I wanted to stay in that dream. If only.

* * *

Thanks to both Major Winters and Major Jacobs, I was going to be sent home on the next ship because of the injuries that were inflicted on me. The German Doctor did the bet he could do, which resulted in my having to heal on the ship on the way back to the states with one of the best Army surgeons and doctors there on the ship, what a freaking coincidence. They thought it would be the best opportunity or me to have some kind of healing while on the way home, and I wasn't going to be alone. The rest of Wolf Company was going to come along since they all got their discharge papers.

We were all heading out together.

After getting a bunch of pain killers in me and gauze on my already healing collarbone, I was being escorted by one of the main passenger trucks with Artemis, Jade, and Nova, the rest of Wolf Company was waiting for me at our meeting area before we would head out on the ship. Major Jacobs came out to get me as I as being taken out on a stretcher the next morning after what happened. After going through main morphine fill, I was ready to face the dull pain that was in my bones. But I wasn't ready for the pain that was going to be on my heart from saying goodbye to the boys. That was going to hurt.

Hell, it was already hurting.

Easy was waiting by the truck for me, all looking rather solemn and sad about the situation as I was walking out in one of the wheelchairs that they found, Bull was pushing it behind me since he jumped up and volunteered at the right opportunity. As he was pushing me out onto the cobbled street, I could see the men there all standing together to see me off at the truck, Nova and Artemis were standing with them and Jade was already in the back of the truck, peeking her head out and smirking at me as I was grinning at all the guys. I was still bonding to the wheelchair and the gauze was still there now on my wound, and I did look less colorful there from the blood loss. Hell, I looked like death, but I didn't see that on their faces as they were smiling at me with worn faces like they didn't sleep through the night.

Bull wheeled me over to where Major Winters was, standing with Major Jacobs side by side in their respected uniforms. I grinned at the both of them though it was hurting me from moving the chest too much really.

"How are you feeling, Kit?" Jacobs asked me now with his warm smile that I haven't seen in months.

"They gave me enough morphine that would be spewing out of my ears at this point." I replied back, the others in Easy and Wolf were chuckling from the joke I gave him.

"Good to hear, Captain. You'll be in good hands on the way back home." He replied back to him, having me already grimace a bit from being away from the boys. Finally, the time for me to head home was here, even though it was closer than expected because of a stupid soldier and his decision to be even more of an idiot. I didn't want to leave, I was being so selfish about it, but it was true. I grew close to these men, every single one of them and for me to have to say goodbye was going to kill me in the end.

"Thank you for helping me heal, sir." I said to Winters now, seeing him grin at me softly and nod his head.

"You were in good hands, Captain Kit. We are gonna pull for you to get better." He reassured me, having me see once again the others reacting to the sentence. This time, they were nodding in agreement now as I grinned at all of them now. At that moment, I tried to get three faces in my head and have it stay there since I had no idea when I was ever going to see them again and if I was. All of their faces: Martin, Garcia, Sisk, Webster, Buck, Talbert, Malarky, Joe, Babe, Doc, Luz, Nixon, Lipton, Welsh…all of them. This was going to cut me all over within my heart and in my head as I felt one tear coming down my face and hitting the gauze there on my chest. This was already a dull bruising pain there, and I only wished that it was a dream.

"Keep tabs on Grant for me, will you please? Sir?" I asked Winters now in a low tone since I could tell this was going to have me be more of a nervous wreck than anything. He smiled at me nodding his head and having me grin back at me, but I knew the smile was ready broken because of the circumstances.

"Of course, Kit." He replied having me see Jacob clear his throat now as he walked over to me now.

"Alright, Captain. We need to head out before we miss the ship that waiting for you." He said to me, having me sigh and nod at him once. He was about to come over to help me when Bull moved from behind me now and moving to stand near me now.

"I can help her, sir." I looked up at him and before I could even ask what was going on with him and why he was doing this, he leaned down and slowly helped me out of the wheelchair. I grunted in pain, Doc who was next to Babe took a step forward but Babe held him back as Bull wrapped an arm around me now and I staggered over to the truck and the others were watching me now with big eyes. This was not how I wanted to go home: I had it all planned out to where I was going to tell them all over a nice fire and alcohol. I was hoping and praying that they were not going to see me as the wounded and beaten Captain that should have been strong and invincible. How were they going to see me now, staggering over to the truck with nothing left in me?

"Come on, Kit," Artemis said to me in a loving tone as Bull passed me off gently to her and they hoisted me up onto the truck now with ease. The sun was still high up in the air as I saw the men looking over at me now with small smiles on their faces. I just grinned at them all, not wanting this to be a bad goodbye for them since they were all so close to my heart.

"Hang tough, Captain." Buck said in reassurance to me, the others nodding and murmuring in agreement as he grinned at me his Hollywood grin that I remember seeing for the first time in England almost a year ago, "I don't think one bullet is going to kill the 'Unkillable' Kit."

"Hell yeah." Babe replied back to me also with a grin on his own face. Doc said nothing next to him but smiled in agreement, since I knew it was already hard for him to say goodbye to me.

"Thanks, boys. Ya'll are animals anyway." I said in a joking manner to them all, the laughter was rebooting in them all though it was more of a sad chorus of laughter than anything. I tried to make it light, and I could see they were trying to, but it was no used to it really.

"But I don't think I would ever ask for any other Company than yours." I said to them all with sincerity there. The truck started up as Nova and Artemis swung their legs to get into the truck now and Jade was sitting next to me, having me feel the vibrations of the truck now as we were slowly starting to drive off, having me see that I was about to leave them behind for good. The one thing that they did though, that made me sob there on out since I knew they couldn't see me because of the darkness of the truck, was all of them showing me one sign that I forgot that I showed them. Hell, I never showed them that sign at all, so the only other people that would have taught some of them that sign and they taught the rest, was Beta. Their hands were making fists, and their arms were crossed in front of them as Winters looked on with Nixon and both os their own hands were shoved in their pockets.

They signed_ Dear._

* * *

**Joe Liebgott's POV**

**3 Months Later, ****August, 1945**

**San Francisco, California, United States**

Someone banged on my front door. Someone was banging on my fucking front door and all I could do was get up slowly from falling asleep, again. Everyone else was out for the day, leaving me alone in the house to have another rousing game of "What nightmare will it be today?".

Great, fucking great.

After we got off the ship, I tried not to stay in contact with a whole lot of the fellas, since I too, like the rest of them, was trying to pick up where I left off when I signed my life away. But that was hell to begin with since the nightmares and the Post Partum bullshit the doctors gave me was seeping into everything about my life. I couldn't even walk down the fucking street without hearing gun noises in my head and seeing some flashes in front of me that reminded me of battle. My poor mother, she thought I was going to be depressed for the rest of my life. I thought so too, I really did.

"Hold on, Jesus." I grumbled as I heard the knocking, again, on the front door and this time it was a bit rapider than before. I stretched up my back to pop it out of its sleep mode. The sun was going down over the city now, and it was the only time I could find rest since nights were mostly filled with nightmares and me not being able to breathe. I ruffled my hair, my feet finding the floor since I fell asleep in my slacks and t-shirt. We had a small enough house that could fit 8 people now, and yet it wasn't big enough for all of running around from place to place. I wasn't used to the cramped place of a house for a long time, and I was still trying to get used to from being away for 3 years.

I walked over to the door, stubbing my door against the corner and muttering out a "Fuck" as I reached the stupid stained glass door my mom _had_ to get when they first bought the house after I turned 2 years old, opening it and then being floored as to who it was at the door. In front of me, looking rather perturbed from what she was seeing, was a tall skinny thing of a woman with long blond hair that was pale and yet straight in framing her face and bright aqua eyes. She was wearing girl's slacks that were black and a light blue dress shirt that was tucked in and her sleeves rolled to her elbows. She was attractive, and how she was ending up on my door seemed to be some kind of sick trick from God for me not praying that day.

"Are you Joseph Liebgott?" She asked, her voice was raspy and her eyes were drilling into me. I was still trying to piece it all together: Why in the hell as she here in front of me now, and why did she look so familiar? It was almost like I was seeing a flicker of the past though that was still something I had to battle with from the Goddamn war.

"Excuse me?" I asked, trying to sound polite about it, but I was still in shock.

"Are you Joseph D. Liebgott?" She asked again, not sounding more agitated since I was clearly not giving her the answer she was wanting to hear.

"Well uhh…yeah. Yeah I am," I replied, blinking the shock and the sleep from my eyes now as she nodded her head, eyeing me up and down with her aqua eyes and as if she was judging me there.

"You look just the same, I guess." She muttered to me, having me no glare at her since she was here for some kind of specific reason.

"Can I help you with somethin'?" I asked her. since she was not going to be a great cup of tea to talk to, I could tell already.

"You don't remember me, do you?" She asked me, having me rethink again on where I saw her. The last time I saw someone like her, the same angular face, was back in the fucking Alps and she was in the truck with Kit and….oh shit…

"You're Artemis, aren't ya?" I asked her since it clearly rang the bell that was in my head now. She grinned at me, a soft smile now since I rang that name out to her, "The girl who can shoot with her bow and arrow...from Wolf Company."

"No one has called me that since I stepped off the ship in New York." She said to me in a softer tone now, having me remember her in all the times she was there with Wolf Company, saving our asses from getting killed more than once and how they were just glad to be able to help in all the war.

"Can I come in?" She asked me, having me see her eye me now as I was brought back to the present. I felt kind of bad then, having her stand on my front porch steps then and not moving since I was practically blocking the way in. If my mother was there watching, I would get a swift slap against my head.

"Yeah sure…sure, come on in I guess." I replied back to her, moving out of the way as she strolled in, hands still in her pockets as she was now viewing the front room where the stairs were and all the family pictures were hanging on the wall. She eyed them like she was a spectator at some museum now and was admiring the artwork on the walls that was was propped on the night stands. Hell, my mom propped up letters I sent her from the war, much to my dismay.

"How did you find me anyways?" I asked her now in interest since it was creepy enough that she found me here at my own house.

"I cross-checked all the families that live in San Francisco with your last name." She explained to me as she was walking over to the living room now, her eyes still wandering and her look was more intrigued than anything as I was floored with what she was saying to me, "There happen to be 3 families in the San Francisco city alone with the name Liebgott, all Jewish Americans, and only one with two males with the name Joseph." She turned at looked at me now, an eye raised at me and she grinned at me.

"Three guesses who." she added, having me walk into the living room and keep my distance as she was near the fireplace and looking at the family pictures there too.

"When I saw the address, I saw that you lived about a few blocks off of where I live, and I figured I would walk over." I lit up a bit in my face from hearing that she lived close enough to where I was to walk over.

"What street do you live on?" I asked her, seeing her look at me once more from her spot and how she was standing with ease.

"Filbert Street," She replied, "Two blocks East from here, near the Antique store that's on the corner." She explained.

"Yeah, I know the place. My ma likes to shop there from time to time." I added to the conversation there. She smiled, and that kind of crooked smile that would make any kind of guy weak in the knees, and it almost worked with me. But then again, there was still the question as to why she was there in my own house in the first place.

"Why are you here?" I asked her, not in a rude way at all since that wouldn't be fair from my position. Artemis sighed, the smile was gone as she turned to look at me again as she now looked a bit concerned with whatever she as thinking about. It must have been and if she had to come and find me, since she looked right at me and I could see her aqua eyes, as stunning as they were, slowly going a bit darker now.

"When was the last time you heard from Kit?" She asked me, having me not say anything for a few seconds now as I tried to think of when I spoke to her, let alone saw her last. I thought about it instantly: It was the same last day that I saw Artemis. She was in the truck, smiling at all of us and still wounded on the upper chest as she was driving off back to the states. I thought about her several times if she was okay wherever she was and how good she was doing back a home. That in itself cause me to fear, cause me to worry about her more and more since I knew her family life was not worth shit. Was she even okay, was she even getting along with her mom and dad?

"Not since she left Berchtesgaden with you guys," I replied to her, "None of us heard from her since."

"And yet you're the only one who knows where she lives." She replied to me, eyeing me to see if I was going to tell the truth or not.

"Excuse me?" I asked her, not getting where she was coming from.

"Kit gave you her address, she told me she did before she was shot." Artemis explained to me, and now I was about to say no to her, but I stopped and thought back, again. I had to think back, back to before she was shot and set back to when we were talking about her family, out on that dock and our feet in the water. Once I gave her my address, she gave me mine too when I told her my motto about Easy

_"No ones gets left behind in Easy."_

I told her that.

"She gave me her address, slipped it in my jacket pocket really after we talked out on the dock." I explained to Artemis now in almost a stammer since I was having another wave of guilt come through me. I should have reached out to her when I could have, instead of wallowing in self-pity and shame from what happened in the war with just me.

"Then you know where she is," Artemis added to me though I shook my head at her.

"You don't?" I asked her.

"I had no way in finding out where she could be. I had no last name, no regional area in Seattle to so searching for her. Believe me," She said to be before having a shaky breath come through her lips, "Wolf Company was not authorized to give out our real information to anyone, even after we were discharged we were not allowed to give out our names to others." It made no sense to me, still, now how they weren't allowed to give out their names, even their first names, to anyone.

"So, that leaves you being the only one who knows where she lives." She said to me carefully now, having me now feel like I was in the hot seat and she was watching me give her some kind of hint as to where she would finder old friend from the war.

"You think she's in trouble?" I asked her, seeing her nod her head once at me now and looking determined about it.

"Come on, Joe. You know how her family is, she's told you what happened to her," I stayed quiet when this subject was now placed on the table, "Her life back at home was shit, and we both know she would be anywhere else than there." She once again paused and let out one more shaky breath that made me see that this was beyond real trouble.

"What is it?" I asked, shrugging my shudders since I was not following her at all.

"When we got back stateside, she was transferred to a hospital out near Washington D.C.," Artemis explained to me slowly now, but she looked like was about to vomit from what she was about to tell me, "After she was there for only a few days, someone came in and bought every single piece of equipment that was needed to help her get better, from home." My heart sunk to the floor and I lost any kind of way with words. I knew what that meant since I had some kind of clear understanding that she came from a wealthy family, but that also meant….

"Holy shit." I said in defeat as I sunk to the coach and head my head in my hands. I heard her walking over to stand in front of me sitting down on the coffee table before I could tell her to get off.

"Three guesses who brought her home to heal, with nowhere to run." Artemis muttered to me in a serious manner.

"Her damn mother, that's who." I muttered back to her, looking up from my heads resting in my hands and she eyed me, the seriousness was back in her eyes like she was shooting her bow an arrow again.

"That's the reason why I came here today: I need her address so I can go and see what happened to her." She explained to me boldly now.

"See what happened?" I asked her in almost a scoff, "You know what's happening to her."

"Okay," She said to me before I could bite her head off even more, "Then get her the hell out of there. I just…I just wanna see if she's okay." I would want to see her too, know that she survived all that has happened to her since she left us there in that Nazi town. Was she even around? Who knows what her mother was doing to her, let alone letting her be shut away from the rest of us that were worried about her. I made a promise to her once, and I hoped to fulfill that promise to her.

"I'll come with you. We got to Seattle, together." I explained to her, the both of us getting up from our spots in my living room, "I ain't gonna let her rot in that hell up there."

"Perfect, I can drive." She said to me as I walked over to the table top where I knew I had my wallet, " I have a good enough car that can last us the drive."

"We have to stop in Oregon before we head up to Washington," I explained to her, shoving the wallet in my back pocket now as she eyed me in confusion, "To Astoria."

"Why?" She asked.

"We have another friend from Easy that lives there and would love to come with and see Kit. Our friend, Don Malarky. I figure if we got up there, it's better if there is more of us in numbers." I explained to her again, seeing her nod once before I knew I had to write down a note to explained to my family why I left them out of the blue. It would seem silly to them. But I had a promise to uphold.

"What's your name anyways?" I asked her out of the blue as we both were walking out the house and over to the sidewalk. She eyed me, her blond thin hair flowing in the wind now and hiding some of her face as the cool summer night was coming over us.

"Why do ya wanna know?" She asked me, not in cockiness but in curiosity. I shrugged my shoulders now.

"We're not in the war anymore, I'd figured I would wanna know more about the girl I'm riding with to see my friend and rescue her from her dumb ass mother." I replied, seeing her cock a grin at me before she answered.

"My real name is Peggy." She replied before she turned and kept walking. I grinned as I followed.

I was getting my friend out of hell.

Off to Seattle.


	37. Chapter 37

**Joe's POV**

**Late August, 1945**

**Seattle, Washington**

"You call this a house?" Malarky, Peggy and I were standing, shoulder to shoulder at the house right in front of me now and we were all in stunned silence. It looked like it would put the mansions in San Francisco to shame really with how it was sitting almost along a cliff that was peering over the sea. The colors were a faint green, yellow, brick red and with big windows. Willow trees were everywhere around it, the victorian style kind of house that seemed like the poor shouldn't be anywhere near it. I was floored that Kit lived here, and she didn't say one word about it.

Peggy and I made our way up to coast to get to Oregon, making me realize that if we were going to grab Kit, I would have to call Shifty and let him know what we were about to do. While Peggy was explaining to Malarky the situation at his house, I phoned Shifty and he was just glad that we were getting her out of there.

"Call me after you grab her, will you please, Joe? " Shifty asked me, having me promise him that. I didn't think I would be making these types of calls to the guys since I was the one who wanted to keep them farther away in my life, it was more of a pride thing really. But thanks to Kit, she was turning that around as of late.

After we grabbed Malarky at his house in Astoria, we made out way into Seattle and found out that she lived on the Northwest area of Seattle. We had no idea where to look at first, and after stopping to get coffee and a bagel in us from the drive from Astoria to there, we asked one of the waiters at the bar where we could find her house. When we showed the address, it was like the guy was hit by a large truck, the shock on his face almost made us feel like idiots more than anything,

"Jetson Mansion? You're not from around here, are ya?"

Which lead us to this mansion of a place, and still made no sense to me at all. Then again, after hearing her last name and knowing that her last name was smacked on most of the weapons that were sent into World War 2. No wonder she was loaded, and no wonder she was miserable at the same time.

"Is this the right place?" I asked Peggy, looking over at her now at the piece of paper in her hand. Kit's handwriting was on the top of it, looking more elegant than anything really as the three of us looked back at the house again.

"1630 36th Ave. This is it." Peggy replied to me as we were watching the house again. I swear it looked more like a mansion already than before when we pulled up in Peggy's car, all three of us smelling like coffee and stale bagels, along with the hesitant smell of these salt from the ocean and the Washington forest.

"This is one of those houses that someone like us can't touch, isn't it?" Malarky asked me, not in amusement, but in genuine curiosity now sine he too was floored from what he was seeing there.

"Well, if this is the right place, then we must as well go in there." Peggy said to the both of us, standing in the middle now as we looked more like bums there at the mansion. She started walking over there now, Malarky and I still frozen in front of the fortress before would find our sense and walked quickly to join her along the bricked path that was going to lead to the wrap around porch and the front door.

"What's the plan when we get in there? I mean, what are we gonna do?" Malarky asked the both of us, having me think about it too. I mean, driving through two states was already crazy enough for me, let alone doing it with a girl I barely knew and just met, and we were about to meet the God Fearing parents that I only heard stories about. I had no idea what we were going to do since we were flying by the seat of our pants now.

"Talk to them for one thing, and make sure Kit is still herself." Peggy reassured him as we reached the front porch steps, I could see there were two gargoyles there on each side, almost like they were guarding the house against any demons that would disrupt their atmosphere, fat chance with us.

"Look, we can just say we're all war friends with her and we're visiting to see how she is," I said to them both as we reached the front door, and before I would even knock on the door I looked at them both, "Let's not really tell them that we kind of hate them for what they did to her."

"That would be a buzz kill, wouldn't it?" Peggy asked me, having me glare at her now since it felt like she was rubbing me the wrong way on purpose. She was edgy, like me, and in a way I liked that. So I knocked on the door with my knuckles, trying to sound polite about it in my tap on their expensive looking front door.

"You know, this could go south real quick if we don't watch what we're doing." Malarky said to the both of us now in a harsh whisper since I could someone on the other side of the door walking over in our direction.

"No shit, we play it cool and we act like we're old friends," I said to him now in my own whisper, "And we _are_ old friends."

"Who happened to have heard about her psycho mother and how much we wanna kill her." Peggy muttered under her breath, and before I could whirl around and tell her to shut up, the door opened and all three of us looked. I was floored from who I saw there since it was not who I thought I was going to see. In fact, it was her father. Hell, it had to be since he looked like he was in his fifties and healthy in his own life. I could see where Kit got her eyes from, from him.

"May I help you with something?" He asked me, much more polite than I thought he was going to be. I had to remind myself, that this was her father that I was meeting. Her mother was the reason the three of us were mad, not him. She talked about him being a good father, never a bad one.

"Uh yes sir," I started, trying to find my paper way of talking to people without acting like a dick, "We are…umm..we're friends of Kit from the war—"

"Kit?" He asked as if he hasn't heard of that name before, having me grimace in front of him and wanna punch myself for using her code name.

"Yeah, sorry, that was her name when we were over there.." I trailed off, trying to get myself back in the right place with him, but the light look in his eyes told me otherwise.

"You know Evangeline?" All three of us were quiet when he used that name with us. Evangeline…that was her name? I tried to get her face in my head when he said that name, and it was fitting her face and how she looked. It sounded like a proper name, for sure, but it also made her sound more thrilling and bolder.

"Yes, we do, sir," Malarky spoke up since I was still tongued with just the name alone, "You see…sir…we served with her in the war."

"She talked about Easy Company." her father explained to us, sounding more hesitant about it and shocked more than anything, "You were in Easy Company with her?"

"We were sir," I replied, finally founding my voice again. Her father looked over at Peggy now, and a small smile was back on his lips now, "You're from Wolf Company?

"I was, sir." She answered him politely, having me see her give him a small smile and he then gestured inside now.

"Please, come on in. Lord knows she needs a friend or two." He said to all of us now, moving out of the way and we all walking in, one by one now. The front room, where we could see the stairs ascending to the second and maybe the third floor, was longer and more grand than my shabby set of stairs back at home. Everything looked grand, grand and ancient with wooden accents and carvings along with an expensive looking rug and rich looking paintings and sculptures. God, this was, in fact, a museum.

We followed him to the sitting room, a bigger room with a fireplace going already since Seattle was getting another round of rain coming our way soon and leather furnishings that seems like they were with more than my house all together. God, I felt more poor in this house than anywhere else, and yet it made me wonder how Kit never flaunted it. Not once.

"Have a seat, I can get you drinks if you want." Her father said to us in his spot in the chair.

"No, thank you." we said separately as we were sitting in one of the longer couches now, already feeling the sense of uneasiness coming over the group as we were just…drinking in the fact that we made it to her house in one piece. I thought that was going to be the worst part, but this was going to be.

"I never got to say my name." he said to us as he got up from his own chair and walked over to the three of us now his hand out for us to shake, "I'm Jack Jetson."

"Joe Liebgott. Nice to meet you." I said to him as I shook my hand in his. As Malarky and Peggy were introducing themselves, my eyes were had gazed over at the pictures on the walls of the rich family that lived here, the nice portraits hung there that showed me her brothers and herself when she was growing up.

"So, you three served with her over in the army?" Jack asked us in curiosity now as he was sitting back in his chair, still close to us to have a conversation really since he looked nice enough to talk to.

"We did. She was first with Wolf Company, and then she was with us throughout most of the war, sir." Malarky explained to him as I was still looking at the pictures that were all over the wall. I saw the one thing that made me almost freeze in the chair I was in with Peggy next to me, who was talking to him now about how she served with Kit in Wolf Company…wait…Evangeline. I had to get used to her using that name for now on. The war was over, and I would think I had to get used to calling her Evangeline like how I had to get used to calling Peggy by her real name.

"Well, my wife was under the assumption that she would be healing a lot better here at home though it wasn't going as well as we thought." I was brought back to when Jack started talking about her and now sad he looked. In a way, I was angry that we haven't seen her yet to see if she was okay, but then again, how he was looking at us made me believe that his own heart was breaking from what was going on with his daughter.

"We were there when she was injured, sir." I said to him, seeing him look over at me now and his eyes going a bit wide now, "It was from a drunk soldier who shot both her and another friend of ours."

"He was drunk?" Jack asked now with a bit of shock.

"Intoxicated is the word I would use, sir." Malarky said there from his spot on the other side of Peggy.

"Well, we know that both a German doctor and her combat medic friend tried to help her a much as humanly possible. That did make the healing process a lot better for her when she was brought home from Washington D.C." Jack explained to us again, the fatherly warmth was heard in his voice again as he was folding his hands on his knees now and looking at the three of us now, holding his gaze at each for us for a few seconds before I spoke up again.

"How is she doing, sir?" I asked him in a curious way now, since we were just talking to him and not seeing her now which was starting to scare me a bit.

"She's still healing, the doctor is giving her plenty of medicine that is going to help with the pain. Apparently, since her collarbone shattered in a unique way, it's more pain for her to get through from day to day," Jack explained to us now, having me give him a small smile since I was appreciating that he was telling us this. Yet he was still then, not moving as he drew out another shaky breath.

"The pain, however, is the least of her worries." He said to us now, the three of us on the couch shifting a bit of uneasiness there. What did he mean by that? Was there more to this than what we thought? I was about to ask when we heard someone at the staircase at the very front of the room we were in. All of us looking, and it made me feel like a statue since I saw who it was.

Her mother.

"Jack, I didn't know we were having visitors at this hour." She said to Jack now/ I could see Evangeline in her too, the red in her hair that was a shade lighter, yet with her mother I could see the gray that was coming through. She was beautiful, yet it was a disturbing kind of beautiful since I could see the coldness there in her eyes as she was looking at all three of us now in her beautiful dress and her hair done just so.

"They're friends of Evangeline…Sarah…from the war." Jack explained to her now with almost a bitter calmness there on his face while she was slowly coming over to walk to be with us in the same room. The way she walked, it was like she was the freaking queen or something and how she tried to carry herself into the room. Such a different way than her husband, who looked like he was just glad to have someone to talk to that was not his wife. I was beyond nervous in how in how she was drilling her eyes into the three of us, and I felt more like an insect than anything.

"Jack, she's not up to seeing anyone right now." She said to her husband, then looking at the three of us now with a forced smile on her lips, "I think you need to come back another day when she can talk to you and not be drowsy with the medication—"

"She can talk to them now, Sarah." Jack said in another bold kind of tone to him now. I could see now that this was about to be awkward, since Sarah was giving him a death trap kind of look to her eyes now and Jack was holding his ground with her while he was sitting in the chair.

"Jack, you know how the doctor wants her to be restful, not to think about what she did…how she was…"Sarah said in such a bite now as Jack shot up from his chair.

"Don't you dare start, Sarah. Not in front of her friends." Jack warned her now, "Let's talk in the kitchen." Sarah eyes him, and they both reluctantly walked away from us and into another room. As soon as they were out of sight, I let out a shaky breath and Peggy looked over at me in worry.

"This is the place where she was for the past 3 months?" She asked in a harsh whisper as we could hear the two of them arguing and trying to keep their voices down.

"She needs to get out of here is more like it." Malarky commented to the both of us now.

"You got that right," I added as the argument was getting louder now, and they were going to be on the brink of shouting. The three of us, still on that goddamn couch like we were at some kind of awkward family reunion, sat in silence now as they were no yelling at each other.

"She doesn't need them, she needs us!" Her mother was shouting, "Her family!"

"You know for a fact that she had no place to be back here with us! She is suffering here, and you are letting her suffer!" Her father retaliated back with her.

"By giving her proper treatment?!" Her mother asked.

"No, by drugging her up to the point where she can't make a choice by herself. You know that's what you were doing! She's been torn apart from what she's done over there in the war, I read her letters and what she went through was hell. You're making it worse by doing this to her here." At this point, after hearing her father say something like that, I felt Peggy gently grasp my hand in her hand, and I had no intention of letting her go since we were both holding onto each other in a death grip. We came at the wrong place at the wrong time, having me look over at Peggy and Malarky to see how they were doing. Malarky looked like he was about to be sick, and Peggy was going to burst into tears. I still held her hand, since it was now that she was seeing what was truly happening to her friend since they saw each other last.

"I haven't heard them yell like that at each other in over an hour. That's a record." We all heard a soft tone, too soft for what was being heard in the other room now as we all looked to see who it was at the very bottom of the stairs. Kit, looking a bit uneasy where she was there at the stairs. We all were shocked to see her there, one hand on the stair railing, and the other was in a sling that was close to her chest. Her hair was started to grow out again from being so short, a bit unkempt as she was wearing a nice green cotton dress and barefooted there on the floor. She looked the same, and yet she wasn't the same since he looked more haunting than anything. I could tell she went through more than what she could handle since she came home.

"Kit?" I asked out loud, thinking this was some kind of sick dream. She smiled, and I could see that it too was damaged.

"Hey, guys." She replied back in almost a croak. None of us moved for a solid moment or two, the three of us on the couch were still in shock from seeing her there. The three of is finally got up from our spots on the couch now and walking over to her, seeing her grin there once again and her collarbone that was still trying to mend itself. There was the clear evidence of hardly any sleep in her eyes and the constant pain there in her heart.

"You're a sight for sore eyes." Malarky said to her in a kind manner, and she nodded her head.

"You too, all you guys are." She replied to us, having us then hear another ring of arguments from the kitchen one again as she looked over there. But I kept my eyes on her now, seeing the pain that was there all over her face and she as trying to hide it.

"I am not going to let her die in here when I know she is better out of this house!" Her father was trying to defend Kit from her mother.

"I am the best thing for her!" Her mother was screaming now as I saw Kit clenching the railing now within her fingers like a death grip. She needed to not hear this, I could see it all over her face.

"So where are they holding you up these days?" I asked her, seeing him tear her eyes from the kitchen and then over at me. Her grin was back there, no longer sad but genuinely glad we were there.

"Come on, I'll show you."

* * *

"How bad is it, Kit?" I asked her as we were sitting side by side on her porch now, facing the ocean as Malarky and Peggy were standing there on the porch. Kit showed us her room, a bit big but grand of course. She had her queen bed with plenty of comforts there. Of course, as I learned from Peggy, her mother had all of the hospital equipment still set up there alongside her bed, and it stayed there collecting dust. The rest of the things in her room, to me to seemed, was mostly there to fill in space there. None of the things in her room made me think would bring her any kind of joy, so it must have been her mother's doing.

"She refused to let me go to a regular hospital, typical of her I guess," Kit explained as we both were sitting in one of the porch love seats. Malarky was leaning against the railing of the porch and Peggy was near the door that was leading to her room, as if she kept her ear open in case we were going to be bombarded by her parents.

"I wanted to talk about what happened to me over there, but she didn't want to have anything to do with it." Kit went on with her story about what happened to her, "And I tried to call you…and Shifty since he gave me his number before he left…but she wouldn't have it."

"Christ." Peggy muttered from her spot near the door.

"Why would she do that?" Malarky asking in disbelief since he too looked miserable about this whole situation.

"My mother always wanted to control me, no matter how hard my father and brothers would fight her on the subject of me needing to get out of the house."

"Sounds more like a prison if you ask me." I said to her, seeing Peggy glare at me now.

"You're not helping." she said to me as I shrugged my shoulders when Kit spoke up.

"It's true, though, Peggy." She said to her now, Kit following her eyes over to her and having me see the sadness there on Peggy, "It's a prison here, and I can't find a way to get out of here."

"Then come with us, back to San Francisco." I urged her now, seeing her look back at me now and her eyes were making sure that I was telling the truth, "I promised you that you could stay with me, you remember?"

"I remember, Joe." She replied her voice was back to normal again and I grinned at her.

"It seems better to stay with this lanky boy then here in prison." Malarky said in a grin, Kit smiled at him as I was about to give him a smack on the head. But it was true, and I would have to try really hard to get her back to a normal life. Her family was not going to help with that, so it left her other family to help her and aid her. But it was mostly up to her now and what she wanted to do since clearly her current state was not really healthy. It was the next thing that came out of her mouth that made all three of us grin from ear to ear.

"You wanna bust me out of here?"

* * *

We all walked down the star to head back down to the first floor, my hand under Kit's arm to help her down as Malarky and Peggy were right behind us. I knew if we were going to get her out of the house, we were going to have to battle her mother and father, mostly her mother really since she was already forced to be reckoned with. Once we reached the first two steps, both of her parents were making a beeline over to us now, no longer looking at each other and then our eyes were set on her mother. She looked stern, already pissed that she was walking around and not being quiet like she as wanting her to be.

"Honey, you need to be resting and not walking around." Her mother said sweetly, but I gazed over now at Kit who was glaring at her mother, my hold on her was still there since I was afraid she was going to be ripped away for good.

"I've done enough resting for quite some time, mother." She replied back coldly now, her mother looking a bit more shocked than anything as Kit kept talking, "In fact, I'm not going to be staying here anymore."

"Excuse me?" I could tell where Kit got her snarkiness from and how she would address me when I would talk back to her.

"You heard me: I'm leaving. Today." Kit responded to her mother now, as her mother gasped out in a scoff before she took another step over to Kit. Without thinking, I moved to stand in front of her, still holding her and making sure her mother was not going to touch her. Kit has done this plenty of times in the past with us in the war, and it felt like she needed this now more than anything.

"I don't think that's a good idea, ma'am." I said to her, almost sounding protective about it now as her mother was almost snarling at me.

"You have no right!" She said to me in a growl, Malarky now stepping close now to make sure I was okay as I saw her reach over to grab me away from Kit.

"LEAVE HIM ALONE!" Kit screamed, her mother freezing and her eyes going wide now as she was shocked at what Kit did to her. Kit looked mad too, staying close to me now and Peggy taking a step to stand on the other side of Kit.

"How dare you, yell at me like this! I am your mother!" She said to Kit, but Kit shook her head now and her hate was growing inside of her more than anything.

"You're nothing of a mother to me," She replied back coolly, "You haven't been a mother to me for years and don't try to start now when all you've been wanting for me is silence."

"That is not true," Her mother as trying to reason with her really and i could tell she was struggling with it since it felt like she was losing the battle, "I only wanted what was best for you—"

"Just shut up, for once in your miserable life, shut the fuck up!" Her voice echoed in the small room now and no one moved or said a single word since he exploded there in front of everyone. She was almost shaking from the hate she was feeling there.

"You have never been a mother when I needed it the most, and I am a grown ass adult that is not going to stay here anymore since you clearly wanted me to stay with an abused ex-fiance." It was like she dropped another bomb and I saw the sadness and same there on her face when Kit explained it there. Her mother was silent once more as I felt Kit squeeze my hands in hers since she was about to break down into tears herself really.

"Get her out to the car." Her father finally spoke up now, all of us looking at her as he was watching her mother now in case she was going to do anything that would stop Kit from leaving her house, "I'll get her medication for her."

"Thanks, sir." Malarky thanked him as we walked down the rest of the stairs and over to the front door. Kit didn't lose her grip on my hand now as we made it back outside though now it was softly raining. Almost like a mist really when we made it down the porch and onto the brick walkway along the front lawn grass. Kit said nothing, not once as we walked slowly over to the car that was still parked outside.

"I should have brought my bow and arrow, would have sure from sense into them." Peggy muttered behind us as we were walking there and our feet were heard on the brick walkway again.

"And with me a pistol," Malarky agreed to it as I was just wanted to get Kit in the car and out of there. She was still not saying a single word now as Peggy got the door unlocked and I gently placed her in the seat. She just sat there, looking dead ahead now as Malarky moved to the passenger seat now and I heard someone running up behind us. It was her dad, Jack, and he had something in his hand now that looked like a bag.

"Here's her medication, it's only pain killers and they get her real drowsy to knock out the pain." He explained to me as he placed the bag in my hand.

"Thanks," I said to him a bit gruffly, watching her cast his eyes over at Kit for a brief second before he looked back at me with earnest there on his face.

"I want her out of this house," He started, having me raise an eyebrow to him now since I had no idea where this was going, "Only because she needs to start living her life, and it's not going to be here. And she told me…she told me about Gerald and what he did to her." I still said nothing, seeing the sadness on his face now as he was saying this to me and Peggy was starting the car now.

"She told me as soon as she could speak again, and I'm heartbroken that it happened to her. She told me, in her letters, that being with you boys and ladies there int he war helped her, healed her, and you are all she really needs right now. Just…just makes sure she knows that I am only a phone call away, and I want her to write as much as she can." He saw her breaking in front of his own eyes, and he hoped that us taking care of her would be much better for her in the end.

"Sure thing, thanks, sir." I said to him, seeing him give me a small smile as I opened the car and scooted in to be in the backseat with Kit as the door closed and we later started to drive down the street in the rain.

We were away from that hell hole.

* * *

Kit was asleep against my shoulder now as we were making our way into Oregon now and through the dark woods now. Peggy and Malarky were in the front seat, none of us saying a word since we left her house, and we didn't want to. I would hope we only saw a small fragment of what her home life, and that was enough for me to see that it was not good for her. I hated that, and I was beyond glad to get here away from there.

Kit stirred in her spot next to me, having me watch and she was murmuring in pain now as she was squirming a bit and a look of discomfort was on her face.

"She needs a pill. Grab me the bag, Malarky." I said to him as he tossed me the bag. I shuffled through the bag to get her pill bottle out as she was opening her eyes again and looking dead ahead.

"Here you go, Kit. You'll get better once we get to San Francisco." I reminded her as I handed her the pill and she popped it in her mouth, "We can get you your own space, like I promised. Remember?"

"Yeah." She replied, not showing any kind of happiness there when we talked about her going to San Francisco.

"How are you feeling, Evangeline?" Peggy asked from her spot in the driver's seat. Kit's eyes were getting heavy now because of the pill and how the drugs were having her sleepy. She said something, but it was a murmur against my shirt as I nudged her slightly.

"What was that?" I asked her softly now.

"I want a cheeseburger." That was the only thing she said, and for some reason, it made me smile from how simple of a sentence yet she sounded like it was the one thing she ever wanted in the world. I locked eyes with Peggy then, seeing her look at me through the rearview mirror and she grinned too.

"Aww, hell Evangeline. We can get you one of the best cheeseburgers that San Francisco can make," I said to her with a smirk on my face, seeing Malarky smile too out of the corner of my eye.

"I know a place, I think Joe knows it," Peggy said as we turned onto the main road that was going to lead us into California, "Near the Wharf. Hickory's Burgers, the best one in town."

"That's a good place. We'll go there, as soon as we head back there I'll get you the best burger anyone will eve have." I knew it sounded like an empty promise, but she need some kind of promise to get her through this kind of phase that was threatening to hold her back. I needed to bring her back since I knew what it was to be in that darkness of about and haunted images. I thought I had to bad, yet I was trying to be alone. But Kit was worse since others were trying to pull her down.

But we just set her free.


	38. Epilogue

**Kit's POV, **

**San Francisco, California.**

"Here you go," Joe placed in front of me a cheeseburger, Malarky across from me on one side and Peggy next to me at one end of the booth. We were in a hole in the wall kind of place, people walking around left and right and ordering food and the lights were dimmed since it was a nice enough looking diner with deep red booth seats, black and white tiled floors, ancient looking pictures and paintings from the customers that came in the past, . We made it San Francisco, Malarky agreeing to come along and stay with us for at least a day to make sure I was truly okay. I was glad Malarky was there to get me out of my house, well, I was glad they all came to get me out. Joe kept his promise, and yet I never doubted him. If Joe was anything, he was beyond loyal. So, as he also promised, he was going to get me a cheeseburger to eat for the first time.

"One for Peggy, and one for me." Joe said he placed Peggy's burger in front of her now and he sat down across from me. I was still eyeing the burger in front of me, suddenly getting hungry and I felt like salivating at that moment when the smell of the burger hit me hard. I was never allowed to have one, not once since my mother was too tight holding with me and what I was allowed to do. But this was the very first time I had some real sense of freedom, true freedom, to do what I wanted.

"You had to get her the one with bacon on it?" Peggy asked Joe as he grinned at me and her. I looked up from the burger in front of me now, seeing Peggy was a bit annoyed with Joe and Joe not even caring about it a whole lot.

"It's the best one they have, Peggy." He reasoned with her as Malarky rolled his eyes and shuffled out of the booth we were in, "I can't have pork, having to stay with my Kosher diet or else my mom will breathe down my neck."

"You two are something else, swear to God." Malarky grumbled to them both, having me giggle and then squint as the pain from my still healing collarbone was there, but less so because of the drugs that were still working within me. Too bad Doc wasn't here, he would be having a field day about it really.

"Oh can it, Malarky. Grab some sodas, will ya?" Joe asked, calling out to him over his shoulder and Malarky flipped him off in return.

"And how is it that you have friends?" Peggy asked him with a coy smile on her lips. Joe glared at her, only playfully from where I was sitting before he set is eyes on my again.

"What do you think, Kit?" He asked me as I was examining the burger again with my eyes, staying still next to Peggy. It looked good, hell it even smelled good enough, but I looked up at him with an eyebrow raised.

"Is it supposed to be this greasy?" I asked him, seeing him smirk and hearing Peggy chuckled next to me.

"What, you act like this is the first burger you have ever had." Joe joked with me, thinking that I was just pulling his leg. But I didn't say a word, the smile falling from his lips now as I was watching now slowly look at me no longer in humor but in shock. Peggy was looking rather shocked too as Malarky was holding four Coke bottles in his hands, all of them with no top on and he looked confused as to what was going on.

"Have you ever had a cheeseburger, Evangeline?" Peggy asked me kindly, and the shock was heard in her tone. I said nothing, feeling beyond guilty for having all of the eyes on me now. Even Malarky was now looking shocked as he was looking at me and his red hair seemed a bit brighter in the dimmed diner.

"Oh for fuck's sake." Joe said in a shocked tone as Peggy glared at him to shut him up, having me feel a bit more shameful from that.

"Don't even, Joe," Peggy said back to him in a warning before she looked at me, "Let me guess…your mother wouldn't let you have it?"

"Not one." I replied, Malarky now slumping into the booth next to Joe now with the shock still written all over his face.

"Well, I'm hoping that we can change plenty of things that your mother tried to keep you from though I think we can really avoid taking you out drinking and smoking a cigarette." Joe joked with me now with a small smirk on his face. I thought it would be worse, much worse really since I looked more like an idiot in front of them.

"I look like an idiot, don't I?" I asked the three of them, in which the shock was no longer there, but genuine smiles were on their face. Joe just shocked his head as he placed my coke bottle in front of me next to my burger and I smiled back at him. We both came far from how we first met at Fort Benning, that way he would bicker at me and now he hated me from something that he really couldn't place his finger on. But we grew, both in a good way and in a bad way now because of the war and how it changed us.

"You're not an idiot to me, Captain Kit." He replied to me kindly now as I eyed the burger again. I was supposed to have this burger, in this booth, with someone else who promised me a date. I thought I remembered with a grimace, my conversation with Ron and how he wanted to take me out on a proper date. where was he now? I had no clue where the others in Easy were and if they were doing okay, and Ron was the one whom I thought of the most. I had no idea if it was because I was still in love with him or I still wanted to have our friendship there with him. Was there going to still be a friendship with him now since I had no idea where he was and if he was okay? Would he be with his wife and son? I only hoped for the best for him as I picked up the burger within my fingers now and I brought it close to me lips, feeling like I was breaking a promise and having another wave of guilt come through me now.

"How is it?" Malarky asked me now as I placed down the burger, a bite mark was there and I looked at all three of them since they were waiting for some kind of reaction out of me now. I grinned at them as a nice catchy tune was being heard over the radio speakers now and people were living their lives around us, and it felt like I was just starting my own life then and there in a diner booth with three of my friends.

"Kind of greasy, but it's good."

* * *

**5 months later**

"Hey, you have a phone call, Evangeline!" I perked up from my spot on the couch where I was reading a new book that I got from the University that day since I went to see if maybe I could start classes there. Thanks to my father, who was still talking to me on the phone and in his letters, I was hoping to get some classes going for the fall. It was still cool there in San Francisco, Joe and I being in our own place now since he moved out from his own house and we moved more to the Wharf District.

I got to meet Joe's family, his parents and all five of his siblings. I had to thank his mother for teaching his eldest son how to be loyal to his friends and for raising him right. She was just glad that Joe had a friend that would be able to put up with his brash nature. Joe's mother was a kind Jewish American woman with a big heart and was willing to have me live with them. But Joe bit that bullet before it got worse.

And now, 5 months into me living here in San Francisco, things were looking up for me as I got up from the couch and placed the book there before I walked over to the phone that was in the kitchen.

"You going out with Peggy tonight?" I asked him as he was handing me the phone.

"As planned, so I don't think you should wait up, mom." He teased me as I took the phone from him and stuck my tongue out at him while he walked away. He chuckled as I placed my ear to the phone.

"Hello?" I asked, leaning against the door frame that was set up there.

"I'm in town, tell me that you're at your place so I don't look like an idiot." I grinned, hearing Shifty on the other end and how he made it out to the West Coast now to see me and make his visit. We talked on the phone also as soon as I got to San Francisco, hearing him sound so happy on the other end and know that I was okay. I was glad he was doing good himself really since he was considering getting his job back as a machinist.

"Thank God, I was worried you got lost on the train route." I said to him in relief, hearing him chuckle on his now end.

"I wouldn't miss seeing you, and I have no idea where to get my hands on a good slice of pizza. Wanna help your best friend out?" He asked me.

"Fine, tell me where you are," I said to him now as I moved over to where I kept my purse, "I can come in a cab and we can grab a slice to eat. Better than the noodles Joe makes that he claims are delicious."

"I heard that!" Joe yelled from his bedroom.

"I'm at Victory Church of the Bay Area, right by the tracks," Shifty replied to me as I grabbed my purse and threw the strap over my shoulder. I was about to answer him when Joe walked over and was back in my view now.

"Hey, make sure you bring him by the apartment tonight at around….let's say 9:00 sharp." I eyed him in suspicion now as he was grinning at me like he was hiding something from me now.

"And why is that?" I asked him in suspicion. He just shrugged his shoulders then, like it was nothing really.

"Oh nothing, just let him know you two will be back here." he replied though I was sticking to my ground there and placing the phone away from me so Shifty would hear.

"Don't be sneaky, tell me what you're hiding." I advised him, and at that point he rolled his eyes now.

"Oh don't be stubborn and just do it." He replied, walking out of the room now before I could yell at him even more. I sighed as I got the phone back to my ear.

"Sorry about that. Apparently Joe wants us back at my apartment at around 9:00 tonight." I explained to him now with a huff of frustration.

"Sounds like fun." Shifty joked with me now as I giggled.

"I'll be right there. Hang tight and we can grab a pizza and I'll show you around the place, okay?" I asked him, already getting butterflies from just thinking about how I was going to meet up with Shifty after not seeing him in over 8 months. He was another anchor for me to hold onto when I felt like drowning, since he was the first to know about what happened to be with Gerald, and yet he still saw worth in me as not just another soldier and comrade, but as a friend.

"See you soon, partner."

* * *

"Nice place, you have." Shifty joked with me as we were approached the apartment I was staying at with Joe. It was close to 9:00, and I was really considering on blowing off Joe when he wanted me to bring Shifty over at that time. I thought it was going to be some kind of trick really, but then again I wanted to see what he had up his sleeve. After I grabbed Shifty from the train station, since he only had his army bag that he didn't mind carrying around really, we grabbed a pizza slice and I showed him around the popular places of San Francisco. I was just glad to see him again, the both of us holding each other close when we greeted each other at the station. It almost seemed like we were old lovers really, in how we approached and held each other like we were afraid that the other person was going to disappear.

"Don't be cheeky with me, Shifty. You can be honest and say it looks like shit." I explained to him as we walked up the few steps that were going to lead us tot he front door. The city life was still going on around us with the scattered street lights to illuminate the street we were on. It was chilly enough that I was wrapped in my peacoat and Shifty with his own jacket that he brought with him on the train.

"I wasn't going to say that at all." He explained to me as I got my keys out, "I think it looks good."

"I like it, nothing expensive here and all of it I bought myself. How's that for growing up?" I asked him as I got the key in the lock and turned it. He just smirked at me as I was eyeing him, almost like I was wanting his kind of approval on me now. He only grabbed my hand in his now and just watched me with his kind eyes that would somehow remind me of the woods in the Alps, the same ones where we would hunt for days after days. I missed those moments with him and how things were just simple and clear for me, not hazy and chaotic. Shifty was clear and simple, just what I needed in this world.

"I'm glad you're doing good, Evangeline. I'm really glad." He replied to me, walking up to be at the same level as me on the step before sneaking in a kiss on my cheek. I chuckled as I got the door open, but I still held onto his hand.

"Come on, before we catch a cold." I said to him, the both of us moving into the room and I closed the door, just in time for the lights to be turned on and we were bombarded by several voices yelling out at one time:

"KIT!"

I saw all of the Easy and Wolf Company members. all there in my living room with big grins on their faces and beers in their hands. I was floored with what I was seeing, and it felt like I was really dreaming since I haven't seen any of them since I left the Alp town with a busted collarbone. But there they all were, in civilian clothes no doubt, and their grins showed that they wanted to be there. I grinned at the boys from Easy: Luz, Webster, Garcia, Babe, Lipton, Popeye, Bull, Talbert, Buck, Johnny Martin, Christenson, O' Keefe, Perconte and my dear sweet friend Doc. Even Winters and Nixon was here, which made me feel even happier. All of the women in Wolf Company were present, looking just as beautiful as ever with their angelic faces and their casual clothes they were wearing that consisted both of dresses and slacks. Joe weaved his way through my friends there crowded in the living room while I was still clutching Shifty's hand in shock as he too was grinning.

"So this is why you wanted us home at 9:00?" I asked Joe as he handed me an opened beer, the grin still on his face.

"I wanted it to be a surprise for you since the rest of the guys were wondering how you were doing." Joe explained to me as I gazed my eyes over to Peggy now with an amused grin on my face.

"I couldn't leave the girls out of it." She replied to me with her hair pushed back for me to see her eyes as they locked eyes with one another. I could see the growing attractant here between the two of us them, and I was just glad they had someone to take care of each other.

"Heya, Kit." I heard my name from my good friend Doc, seeing him walk my way now with that soft gentle star about him that I have missed dearly. I knew he tried so hard to keep me alive when I was shot, having me remember those times when Iw as drifting between conscious and unconscious and he was still there, holding my hand and keeping me alive. I would be in a worse condition, if not dead, if it wasn't for him and how he took care of me.

"Come here, Doc." I said to him, hugging him without thinking twice and he hugged me back. I missed him so, beyond words really since he too knew about my family and what happened to me. He had a firm grip on me as someone turned on the radio and once we pulled away, I was grinning at his face again.

"I've missed you so." I said to him.

"Same here, Kit." He replied.

"Not as much as me though, right Kit?" Luz walked over to me now with his own grin and the others were chuckling too.

"Of course not, Luz. No one can compete with you." I reassured him as we hugged and I saw two other men coming my way, two men I never thought I would see in a million years and I almost started crying. There was Bill Guarnere and Joe Toye, both of then on crutches and looking as happy as they could be for someone who lost a leg. But they looked great from where I was, and they were smiling at me widely now like nothing bad happened to them.

"Liebogtt told us how you were and we wanted to come and make sure he wasn't treating you like utter shit." Guarnere joked as Joe was now talking to Peggy again, their hands intertwined together now as he glared at Guarnere.

"Go to hell, Bill." He replied and Joe Toye got himself over to me now and he gave me an awkward hug with his crutch in the way. I was just glad to have all of these men and women back in my life really since they all looked like they were in a bad place when I left them in the Alps. But now they all looked healthy, healthy and content on where they wanted to be in their lives. I didn't know fi Joe told them what happened to me, and at this point, I didn't care.

I had my friends and family back.

* * *

"Earthmoving business?" I asked Bull now as we were catching up together, one on one as the rest of the guys and girls from Easy and Wolf were catching up together now in our cramped apartment. After I talked to each of them, checking up on them now and hearing what they were doing. I even talked to Nixon and heard that he was doing just fine, Winters as well. He was just glad I was doing okay, and I was glad too.

"Yeah, my dad's done it for awhile now. He though I should start taking it over before he passes." Bull explained to me as we were sitting by the front window, just the two of us with our beers and no one around us really.

"Sounds like you're doing good." I said, seeing him grin that innocent grin he would use while we were in the war.

"Joe told me you were thinking about going to school?" Bull asked, having me take a drink from my beer and nod my head.

"Sure am. I was thinking English, it's pretty basic for me really. Plus, I have a job interview lined up as a secretary at the University library." I explained.

"You know how to make phone calls better than how you shoot you rifle?" He asked me in a teasing manner.

"Laugh it up, Bull." I countered him back, the both of us laughing at that point for a few seconds as I looked over to see some of the guys talk to each other. It was sure a sight for me to see Joe and Guarnere talking and joking to one another, when I knew they weren't the best of pals in the war. Babe and Doc were chatting together, Martin and Perconte were joking with each other and some of the girls were talking to Easy with ease.

"I'm glad you're okay, Kit." Bull pulled me back to his conversation now as I looked at him, the sincere smile on his face now made me genuinely smile back at him now, "I was worried about ya when you were sent home."

"All the guys were." I explained to him, but he shook his head.

"I think we all were more worried about your mother and what she was gonna do to you than you getting better from a bullet." He informed me, having me move a bit in my seat since I never really talked about the incident with the drunken soldier and the bullet that almost killed both myself and Grant.

"What happened to him?" I asked Bull now in wonder, "The soldier that shot Grant and I?"

"Joe didn't tell you?" Bull asked me with a bit of shock on his voice now as I looked at Joe again, seeing him talk to Toye and Webster together.

"Not one thing." I replied, looking back at Bull now as he looked a bit uncomfortable just talking about.

"We went out to find the soldier while the German Doctor was takin' care of you and Grant. Someone found him at a checkpoint, he was a replacement in I Company and some of us got him in a room to roughen him up a bit since we were pissed, beyond pissed really. I think both Joe and Popeye were going to break their knuckles from the blows they were givin' the guy." I cringed a bit, thinking of how the boys are inflicting pain on that soldier because he tried to kill Grant and I.

"Captain Spiers came in, gun loaded and he looked beyond angry, none of us have seen him that angry before, Kit. He pointed the barrel at the guys head and was about to shoot it," I was so quiet when he told me this, having me see it in my head and how Ron would be beyond angry if there was even a word to describe it really since it made me worry that he would stoop to that level now.

"Some of us laugh on that he cared for you, enough to call you a friend as much as a fellow Captain," Bull went on then, with his voice a bit timider than before, "But I think we saw a different side of him then when he was about to shoot him."

"Did he shoot him?" I asked him, worrying that he would do that because he was angry of what happened to me.

"He wanted to, Kit. I could see it on his face and so did the rest of us. But no, he didn't pull the trigger." He answered, having me breathe out a shaky breath now in both satisfaction and in worry. This is not what I wanted for Ron really, for him to do that. I wanted him to be happy and satisfied with his life, not be hateful and scornful. I was about to say something else when there was a knock on the door, having me look over and see Joe was about to go and grab it when I got up.

"I got it, hang tight there." I said to him, seeing him smile and lean back to his joke with Toye as I walked over to the door, Ron still in my head and what he did for me. Where was he now since he was not here at my apartment. I wanted to make sure he was okay and all was well with him, not scorn him anymore for breaking me apart. I was in a good place now, a very good place. But it was when I opened the door that I was floored with what I was seeing.

Ron Spiers. At my doorstep.

"Ron." I said to him, almost in a gasp, but I kept it level. He was wearing his own pea coat and he smiled at me now at the bottom of the steps, not even moving to meet me where I was at the front door. He looked the same, and yet different at the same time. I was shocked to see him there, and yet I couldn't move to meet him and hug him.

"Hi, Kit." He said to me, and his voice brought me back to the countless times we would talk together and when we enjoy each other's company. I wanted to go out there and talk to him, instead in the crowded group of men inside my house, so I rushed over and grabbed my peacoat that was hanging on the hanger in the hall before closing the door and walking down to see him eye to eye. The street light above him brought out the shade of brown in his hair, along with the angular jawline.

"How did you get here?" I asked him, wrapping my arms around myself, "Did Joe tell you to come?"

"He invited me, but I didn't want to come at first." He explained to me, having me look at him in confusion and uneasiness.

"Why?" I asked, not getting where he was coming from.

"I really….just wanted to come alone and see if you were alright." He said to me calmly now, having me grin at him now and feel the gentle breeze snip through the night now as we were facing each other now and having me just smile at him.

"You can come in and grab a beer if you want." I suggested, but he shook his head.

"No, that's okay." He replied, having me grimace a bit since he didn't want to see the others now and get back to being friends with them.

"I'm glad you came though, Ron. I was hoping that you were doing okay." I explained to him since he was on my mind and he was giving me worried night as to where he was and if he was doing okay being a regular civilian now in the real world.

"I'm doing fine...though I'm still going to be working the army for anything that could happen in the future." He explained, having me pause there to hear that he was willing to stay in the army now though the war was over and we had a chance at a real life. I only hoped he knew what he was doing, and I tried so hard not to get those butterflies in my stomach again. Although it has been a good several months since I saw him last, and even longer since he broke my heart and made me feel pathetic, I still considered him my friend after all this time and I hoped for the best for him.

"How's your wife?" I asked, and I tried not to make it sound so cruel and mean at all, "And your son?"

"My wife just found out that her dead husband wasn't really dead…actually," Ron explained, having me look at him with wide eyes now and it felt like I said the wrong thing at the wrong time. It was awkward now, hearing that his wife had another husband, her first husband technically, and Ron was stuck there now.

"He's alive?" I asked him.

"Yeah, and she apparently wants to go back to him now. So..I'm divorced." I cringed now, closing my eyes in defeat since this was not the kind of conversation I wanted with him.

"I'm so sorry, Ron. I really am." I said to him, but he shook his head now.

"It's alright. I knew I couldn't have loved her as I should have, and I know my son will be I great hands with him now as his stepfather. I didn't know him well to begin with either." He explained, seemingly calm about it yet if it was me, I would be having the worst life ever.

"I feel like an idiot." I muttered to him now in a grimace as he shook his head.

"Kit, it's fine, it really is," Ron reassured me now as he could see that I was feeling uncomfortable now with the conversation.

"You sure? I mean…are you okay?" I asked him as I took another step forward to him, yet I still kept distance between the both of us.

"It's been a good adjustment for me, coming back home to Massachusetts. But Kit, it's nothing that I cannot handle as a Captain in the war." he explained, having me shake my head slowly.

"Trust me, I would sometimes prefer to be back int h war than back out here in the real world." I said to him in sincerity, "Being home in itself was like being in Bastogne."

"That bad?" He asked me now, worry was there on his face.

"My mother was the worst she could ever be, but thankfully Joe got me out of there." I explained, seeing him look over at the window into our apartment, having me think he was seeing Joe in there talking to another Easy member or talking with Peggy and holding her hand like she was the best thing in his world.

"Yeah, thank God for Joe, huh?" He asked aloud in almost a dry manner.

"You make it sound like a bad thing." I said to him now in amusement, seeing him look over at me now and see the pain back there on his face and how he was carrying himself in front of me now. It was like it pained him, what we were talking about with me being back at home and suffering there.

"I should have gone there to help you, Kit." He said it in such a way like he was stabbed in the chest, the pain was in his tone, "I should have known that you were going back to a shit hole of a place-"

"Ron, stop." I stopped him before he would wallow himself into self-pity. He looked at me now, shuffling a bit in his coat as I took out a shaky breath. He was still a good friend of mine, and I hated him suffering like this now.

"I got out of there, okay?" I asked him, showing him a smile that was not harmless at all, "I'm fine here in the city, far away from there. I have Joe, I have Peggy and I can go along just fine out here." He watched me as I said this, saying nothing at all as I heard another rousing of laughter from inside the apartment.

"You should head back in there before they think you got lost." He said to me, pointing to the apartment now and I smiled at him softly, thinking he was trying to find some way out of talking to me as I shook my head.

"I'm better out here with you anyways. You should come on, say hi to the fellas." I urged. But once again, he shook his head again and I felt bad he wasn't going to go in now to see the others. So I walked over there, looking right up atheism now and we were inches from each other, but I didn't touch him. I wanted to really see his face since it seemed like he's changed since I saw him last night. He eyed me too, not saying anything to me.

"I have to go back to Massachusetts in the morning." He said to me softer now, having me a nod.

"I understand, but Ron?" I asked him.

"Yeah, Kit?" He asked me, having me chuckle a bit now.

"It's Evangeline, actually. That's my real name." I said to him, seeing him grin at me and have me see the warmth on his face now.

"It's beautiful." He murmured to me as I could of sworn I felt like I was meeting him for the first time all over again, before all the pain or the war, all the death, and all that happened between us. I wondered if we were meant to be together, if it was destiny that we would find each other even after the war. But then again, we were friends still and we were no longer that way.

"Don't be a stranger to me, please," I asked him quietly, seeing him eye me up and down now, "I don't wanna lose you as my friend since you were good enough for me to call you that."

"I treated you like shit." He stated to me.

"Not when it came to being my friend." I countered back, seeing him go silent.

"Okay," he replied, having me grin at him as he shuffled a bit once more before he leaned over to kiss me on the head. I held it there, not moving as his lips touched my skin. I thought back to when I didn't see him again, back when I was still recovering and he kissed my head before disappearing from me. But this time, he held it there for some time before he moved away from me and grinned at me. I felt the warmth again, the warmth of life.

"Goodbye, Evangeline." He said to me, "I'll phone you later."

"Goodbye, Ron." I said to him as he then turned and walked down the sidewalk now, having me watch and stay still as he was walking away from me. I felt like I was letting go of the life with Ron I thought I wanted, that I craved for. But then again, I knew we could never be the same since he broke that for us. I had no more hate for him, not since he walked back in the Alps. But it pained me to see him go since I had no idea when we would going to see ache other again. So I said goodbye.

Goodbye to the love I thought I had.

* * *

**Kit's POV**

**Los Angeles, California**

**November, 1999**

"That's the last time I ever saw my mother," I had to pause then, thinking of that day clearly in my head and how it was faintly raining, the sun was far away and yet, I felt free then. I was sitting within an interview, though it was not my first one to be fair, and I had a young man sitting across from me and a camera was rolling on me now as they asked me when I saw my mother last.

"That day at the house? That was the last time?" He asked me, seeing me doze off for a moment within my own thoughts and I chuckled.

"I'm sorry I…I haven't thought of that day in what seemed like forever." I confessed to him, seeing the man smile at me.

"It's alright," he replied back to me now as I took in another shaky breath and laced my fragile and bony fingers now together on my lap.

"I came to find out that my mother died in the springtime of 1948, she was sick for some time and Bronchitis took her in her sleep. Before then, I only heard from her once, when I sent her an invitation to my wedding. My younger brother, bless him, told me that she was not going to attend the wedding of the daughter who brought her shame, who was going to marry someone without a penny to his name. She passed a year and a month after I was married." I explained.

"But what happened when you made it San Francisco?" He asked me, having me be thankful that he was changed the pace of the interview that I was doing.

"After I arrived and had my first cheeseburger. Joe and I moved into a nice apartment, together as friends of course. Joe ended up becoming one the closest friends that I have ever had in my life, all because he saw me suffering and wanted to help. We lived together for a good year or so as I found work as a Secretary in the public library and applied to go to school there at the University. My father helped me in applying, and he was proud to see me get my degree in English. I stayed in contact with my father, brothers and my Uncle all through their lives up until their deaths, and they attended my graduation, wedding, and the christening of my children.

"I moved out on my own when Joe and Peggy got together, getting married 6 months later and I was their Maid of Honor, along the Godmother of all 8 of their children. After that, I was married, have 5 children of my own, and later about 8 grandchildren. It was the life I knew I wanted, but it was done without the careful planning of my mother and the constant worries of society." I took another shaky breath since this was the first real time that I would talk about all that happened to me really and how it affected me to this point. I was no longer young, but I still felt young enough to believe that what I did was good enough, since they asked me to do this interview to recall all of the adventures of Easy Company and the role they played in the war.

"Wolf Company was recognized for their valued effort and handwork in the war, yet we've stayed the only all female Company in the war and in the army for another several decades. Thankfully, times have changed now and we are still being recognized by female soldiers who are currently enlisted." I explained lighter now, the man chuckling.

"And rightfully so." He added.

"Thank you, I am glad to have been part of a history making Company such as Wolf Company. I stayed in contact with both Easy and Wolf Company all of my life, attended weddings, birthday parties for their children, and even funerals for those who passed. It saddens me to know I'm the last living member of Wolf Company since I was the youngest enlisted in the group, I forgot that I would be the last still standing. After each of them passed, the latest one was Peggy, I attended each of their funerals since I knew they would have come to my own.

"Since the war, I haven't picked up a gun since. I never saw the used to shooting another gun since he reminded me of the war and how much pain I inflicted on other cause I thought it was my job. Those memories, both nightmares, and flashes were enough for me to suffer through, so a gun was not another option for me really." I took a long drink from the glass of water that was sitting next to me now as I caught another wave of breath to come through and keep talking about my life.

"The boys of Easy were never far from my heart, and I was glad that we had our reunions throughout the years. I stayed in contact with most of them: Eugene Roe became the Godfather to my eldest son, Winters coming to visit from Pennsylvania with his family, I would even go out to Philadelphia to see Babe and Guarnere with their growing families. They all came to my wedding actually, in their dress greens."

"Have you stayed in contact with Ron Spiers?" The man asked me now, having me grin at him.

"Oh yes, we stayed close friends, and we still are. Back in 1947, a couple months after I was married, He took me out on the date he promised to take me on, and we talked for hours on end about our lives up to that point. I think Ron had always had a soft part of my heart, the part that was never damaged or broken in the war or with my family. I still wonder, sometimes from time to time, what would have happened if we stayed together if things went differently."

"Things would be different, I suppose?" The man asked me.

"Perhaps, but in the end, I was glad to have a friend like Ronald Spiers. As mysterious as he was, he was good and true in his heart though he hardly showed it. He attended my wedding, helped with my family when we were having trouble, and I did the same for his own family he made." I explained to him now, seeing a soft smile on the man's face as he then looked at his notes on his notepad before looking back at me again.

"I have one more question for you," He said to me, "What can you take away from this experience, being in the war. How has it change you?"

"For me, I guess, it's changed how I viewed my own life. The war, as silly as this sounds, gave me a sense of freedom to do what I thought was right and what I thought would be a good imprint. My life before the war was broken, shattered and shredded apart because of I lost the trust of my own family.

"But Easy and Wolf Company brought it back for me. I still live in those nightmares, that I killed men, that I saw more blood than I should in my one life, and I have seen my old friends change for the worse. But I am glad that I didn't go through that alone since I had brothers in Easy Company and sister in Wolf Company to go through it with me."

The man smiled and he placed the notepad on the table next to him, getting up from his chair and then help get me up from the chair with ease now. I smiled at him, the camera turning off and feeling like I was finally at ease.

"Thank you for your time in talking to us about this. We'll let you know when we start filming the series and who we are going to cast to play you." He explained to me now.

"Of course, I'm glad to be of help, Mr. Tom Hanks." I replied to him as I heard the door open and we both looked. In walked my husband of 51 years and he grinned at me as he came to take my hand in his now in the interviewing room.

"How did it go, honey?" he asked me.

"Better than yours I bet." I teased him, hearing him chuckle as I pecked him on the cheek.

"Let me make sure I get this written down." Tom said to us as he walked to the notepad once more and grabbed the pen, "The finished interview with Evangeline 'Kit' Powers, and her husband, Darrell 'Shifty' Powers."

"Perfect." I replied to him.

Perfect as can be.

**The End.**

* * *

**Author's Note: Thanks for reading this story and sticking by me through it. There may be more Band of Brothers stories in the future, and I one I'm working on right now is great! Check it out: Easy Company's Pilot Named Adaline.**

**Thanks for the reviews and support, you guys are amazing!**


	39. Chapter 39

Hey guys! I wrote a small sequal snippet about Kit and her life with Shifty! It's called Kit and Shifty, go get a read of it and see what you think!


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